Does It Matter?
by unknown angel rae
Summary: "As odd as it sounds, I feel at peace with everything in my life thus far…I'm not sure if that's the drug talking or if I've finally lost my mind but hey, I did what I was born to do I guess…pilot Deathscythe, destroy OZ and restore peace. Must be why I was never able to self-destruct huh…Damn button…no regrets though right?" 1x2, 3x4, OCxOC
1. Chapter 1: Reuniting

**Does It Matter? **

unknownangel

A/N: HI! lol. This is my first GW fic. I've loved the anime for years and I'm just now starting to write them. Anyway, I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue

Pairings: 1x2, 3x4

Chapter 1: Reuniting

_Three years. It's been three years since the Mariemaia Incident. Two years ago, we were together. After that, we split up and tried to do something. Tried to find a place where we belong. I think I did. I'm not sure about the others though. We sort of lost contact with each other. At least, that's what I like to think. I know it's not true though. Trowa stayed with Quatre, doing God knows what. Wufei is with Sally and the Preventers. Heero…Heero Yuy, the Perfect Solider, the Zero pilot, robot-like, nonsocial, son of a…oh sorry, got a bit carried away. Anyway, I think he's Relena bitch Peacecrafts' bodyguard._

_Heh. Everyone's with someone. Everyone but me. Duo Maxwell, Shinigami, the God of Death, Deathscythe pilot; is too annoying and loud to have someone. Or…maybe I was meant to be alone. Solo…Sister Helen…Father Maxwell. I know they didn't mean to leave. I just wish…they were here. Hilde lived with me at one point, about six months ago. Poor girl, couldn't handle my hyper-activeness and messiness for very long. She moved out and moved in with her boyfriend. After that, I moved here, to Seattle, Washington. It's very beautiful here. I really like it here._



Rain fell lightly in the city. It was early morning; gray clouds rolled across the sky. A shift in the corner signaling someone in the room. Duo turned over and stared at the ceiling, listening to the rain. A moment later he sighed then got out of bed and walked to his kitchen; his long, chestnut brown flowing behind him. He moved slowly, dragging his feet, and making a cup of hot chocolate.

**_BEEP, BEEP_**

He heard as he watched the water heat up in the microwave. He growled then combed hi fingers through his hair and quickly braided it. then he walked to the vid-phone and picked up the receiver, he yawned just as the picture came up.

"Duo, it's been awhile," said a feminine voice. When Duo stopped yawning, he looked at the screen, then smiled slightly.

"Well if it isn't Commander Une. How've ya been?" he asked. She chuckled quietly.

"Pretty good. Listen, I know you aren't with the Preventers, and I hate to ask you so just know you can refuse. Duo raised an eyebrow. Now he was wide awake, and curious. What did the Preventers want with him? He nodded signaling her to continue.

"For security reasons I can't give you details but, we figured you would be best for this mission. We will pay you for your time and I'll talk with your editor." She said. Duo narrowed his amethyst eyes. 'They' thought 'he' would be best? Who was 'they'? And…

"How do you know about my editor?" Une chuckled again.

"Don't worry Duo; I'm the only one who knows. You'd get to see the others again," she said quietly, smiling softly. Duo looked up, eyes slightly wide, before looking down.

"Do they want to see me?" he asked voice soft. She sighed.

"Honestly Duo, I don't know. If it means anything, they were the ones who said you would be best for the job. "Duo looked up then sighed.

"When do I leave?" he asked as he smiled gently up at her. She smiled.

"I'll have you scheduled to leave tonight at Five. You know where the Preventers base in Seattle is right?" Duo nodded.

"Okay I'll contact them and tell them to be expecting you. Then someone will pick you up from the airport here."

"Roger that Commander," Duo said as he lazily saluted, smiling insanely. She chuckled.

"Heh. I'll see you soon," he said with amusement in his voice. After she nodded in acknowledgement, her face disappeared from the screen. Duo sighed. _Well…might as well start packing._ He then made his way to his bedroom, dragging his feet along the floor. Hot chocolate, forgotten.



Commander Une sighed after hanging up. _I didn't think it would take that much convincing._ She though.

_**Knock, Knock**_

"Come in." The doors opened and in walked her secretary.

"Commander?"

"Schedule the flight for Duo Maxwell." The woman nodded, before starting out.

"Oh, Commander?" Brown eyes flickered back to the woman standing in the doorway.

"Which file?"

"GP- 02." The secretary's eyes widened.

"Another gundam-"

"Yes, now go!" With that, the secretary scurried off closing the doors on her way out.

_Duo...what happened? I'd been wondering why he wasn't here, I think I got my answer. _Une sighed. _I shouldn't have asked him too come here._



Duo sighed as he sat back against the seat on the shuttle. _Why am I going? They…hmm…she said 'they'. Does …does that mean that that…all of them are there? _He looked out the window and watched the scenery pass as they took off.

"Mr. Maxwell?" Duo looked over to the Preventer.

"Would you like something to eat or drink?" The braided teen shook his head and turned back to the window.

"Mr. Maxwell, we're about to land." Duo opened his eyes then stretched. _When did I fall asleep?_ He shrugged. After the shuttle landed, he slowly got off then walked into the hanger, then continued to the Commanding Officers' office in the base. As he walked, he saw people, soldiers, start whispering and pointing, but he ignored them.

"Hi! Mr. Maxwell!" Duo stopped then stared at the slightly bouncing and beaming face in front of him.

"Uh...hi."

"My name's Aaron. I'm here to escort you to the CO's office and then to the Preventers Headquarters." Duo tuned him out. This guy was hyper. He looked about a year younger than him but still! He looked around discreetly. _Hmm…I don't think these guys like him very much._ The other soldiers were glaring and whispering horrible things from what Duo could tell. He sighed as they started walking. _Has he shut up yet?_

"…very excited you…" _Nop_e.Duo followed the other, Aaron, not listening as he talked a mile a minute, then gave a whoop of joy, on the inside of course, when they reached the CO's office.

"Ah! Mr. Maxwell, come in. No Aaron, stay out." With that, Duo walked in and looked around before his eyes settled on the man in front of him. He had black, short hair, brown eyes and had a mean face. He looked about 47 or so and still in shape.

"Here, have a seat Mr. Maxwell." Duo raised an eyebrow. _This guy…I don't trust him. _Duo smiled forcefully.

"Nah, I've been sitting too long. Need to stand ya know?" he said. The CO shrugged.

"Well, welcome to the Sanc Kingdom. Or really, welcome back. I'm Colonel Schwartz, CO of this base." Duo nodded. He was starting to get impatient.

"I trust you had a good flight?" Duo nodded again.

"Good well, I just thought I'd introduce myself since you'll probably be seeing me a lot. Aaron!" The door opened.

"Yes Colonel?"

"Get our guest to Commander Une. She's expecting him." Aaron saluted him then walked out with Duo following.



_Augh. My head._ Duo thought. He felt the formation of headache when they left the CO's office, and now it was getting worse. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Aaron was **still** talking.

"Mr. Maxwell, can I take you bags for you?" he asked excitedly as they walked the doors to a car. _Hn. Those other guys were glaring too. Wonder why._ He thought sarcastically. He had a pretty good idea of **why!**

"No, I'm fine." Duo stated. _This guy must be new._

"You sure Mr. Maxwell? I was instructed to make sure your trip to Headquarters is relaxing and peaceful for you. I could take your bag for you. Mr. Maxwell! Mr. Max-" Duo stopped and whirled around to face the shorted teen. Surprise showed on his face.

"I said I'm fine. Stop following me. Leave me alone! You're annoy-" he stopped, eyes wide. He looked at Aaron and saw that his eyes held fear and confusion. _He's just like me. That's shy…why no one contacted me. Why no one stayed with me. Why they always yelled at me. Why…why I never had friends growing up. I…I never listened to them. I guess…I was meant to be alone._ Duo sighed. _I've sighed so many times today, it's not funny._ He then looked back at Aaron.

"Let's go. All right? I'm hungry." Aaron smiled wearily.

"Commander Une is hosting a party of sorts, so there should be food there. "

"Then I guess we'll have to hurry." Duo smiled as they got into the car.

About five minutes into the ride Duo glanced at Aaron then back out the window.

"So…" he started, "Why doesn't anyone like you there?" Aaron visibly froze.

"You noticed?" he asked quietly be fore chuckling softly. "I guess you would I mean you were a gundam pilot." Duo looked at him questioningly.

"The way I act."

"That's it?" Duo asked. Aaron nodded.

"Yeah. That's it."

"…Damn. They wouldn't like me then either." Aaron looked at him sharply before looking at the road again.

"Why? You're a gundam pilot. You're cool, they like you." Duo laughed.

"On a good day, I'd been acting like you." Aaron glanced at him.

"Either way, they'd still like you. You're a gundam pilot."

"Yeah well, that's not something I'm exactly proud of." Aaron looked at him confused.

"Why not? You guys saved us."

"I did a lot of things I'm not proud of. All those people I killed." Duo's voice got softer as he spoke.

"Mr. Maxwell, no one blames you because of it, you know that right?" Duo looked up.

"Yeah…maybe, but that doesn't stop self hatred."

"Well, here we are. I've gotta get back. Good luck with your mission Mr. Maxwell."

Dou got out of the car and turned back.

"You take care."

"I will Mr. Maxwell." Duo chuckling.

"Duo. Call me Duo. Oh, and if those guys give you any trouble tell them you're friends with me." Duo smiled. Aaron returned the smile and nodded. Duo shut the door then watched Aaron drive

off, before turning and walking into the Preventer Headquarters.



As the braided ex-pilot walked through the lobby to the security desk, he looked around. _Hmm... nice. I like what they've done with it. _he thought as he reached the desk. The security guard looked up.

"Ah. Mr. Maxwell, Commander Une's been expecting you." Duo sighed. _Why was everyone calling him that?_

"Follow him upstairs." Said the guard as he pointed at a Preventer that just came out of an elevator. After about thirty floors a soft, high-pitched **_ding_** was heard and the doors opened. Duo looked around the room; it was small but big enough so it wasn't suffocating.

"This way Mr.-"

"Just lead the way," Duo said tiredly. The Preventer nodded then started walking through the crowd of people.



"Duo's here." Quatre looked at Trowa then in the direction the green-eyed ex-pilot nodded, the others doing the same. Duo stood talking with Commander Une.

"Damn! She took us seriously," Wufei said somewhat irritated.

"Wufei! That's not nice. I was serious," Quatre said looking down. Trowa wrapped an arm around his waist and hugged him. Heero said nothing, just watched Duo. _His hairs' longer._ He thought. Wufei sat down and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Either way," Trowa said, "he's here." Quatre nodded then stood. Heero watched as Une excused herself and left Duo standing there.



Duo smiled gently at Une when he got to her.

"You're dismissed," she said to the Preventer next to him, before turning to Duo and returning his smile.

"Welcome Duo. I trust your flight was okay?" Duo nodded.

"Good. Well, after this get together we'll meet in the briefing room. The other's as well. I'd give you a night to rest but…"

"Nah. I understand. No problem." Duo said reassuringly. Une smiled in relief.

"Okay. Well, have fun. Excuse me." Duo waved slightly before he felt eyes on him. He turned and locked eyes immediately with Heero Yuy. He jumped slightly from the intense way the ex-pilot was staring at him before he took a deep breath and put a fake smile on. He hoped they wouldn't notice as he walked over to the four Preventers.



Quatre smiled sincerely as Duo walked to them.

"Hello Duo. How've you been?" he asked. Duo shrugged.

"Pretty good. Can't complain." He replied.

"That's good. Where do you live? What do you do?" asked the blonde as he led the braided teen to a chair and sat down.

"I live in Seattle, but I can't tell you what I do," he said smirking. Wufei snorted.

"Yeah. You probably don't even have a job," he spat. Heero didn't miss the look of hurt that passed through the ex-pilots violet eyes, before a high-pitched squeal cut through the quiet atmosphere.

"Heero! There you are!" Duo cringed. _Relena…damn…I was hoping I wouldn't have to see her. _Duo thought before he put his fake smile back on.



Duo sat quietly, staring at the ground not really listening to the conversation.

"…uo. Duo!" He jumped.

"What?" he asked. Everyone was staring at him. Quatre, with worry; Wufei and Relena were glaring; and Heero and Trowa, questioningly.

"Duo, are you okay?" Quatre asked concerned. Duo looked at them all again before he turned his eyes back to Quatre.

"I'm just tired from my flight," he said. The blonde ex-pilot nodded. Duo doesn't lie. Duo smiled. Nope, he doesn't lie. He just doesn't say the whole truth…sometimes. Then Commander Une came over.

"Duo come with me," she said. The teen nodded then stood.

"I'll be back," he said as he followed the Commander.



"Duo, what's wrong?" Duo looked around the room. It was nice. One wall of windows overlooking the brightly lit city. Duo opened his mouth to speak.

"You've been quiet Duo. Knowing you, you'd have already tried two pranks and have had Wufei chase after you for something by now. You aren't acting like yourself, so **don't **say you're fine." Duo sighed, then looked down.

"I don't want to be here," he whispered. "I feel like…like I'm not wanted here. I…I shouldn't have come."

"Why do you feel like that? Why did you come then?"

"Because!" he exclaimed, surprising her, then quietly adding, "because I thought...I…I didn't want to believe it."

"Believe what Duo?" Une asked softly.

"Believe that they left me. I…I thought I had finally gotten friends. **_Real_** friends; that wouldn't leave but…I was wrong. We went our separate ways, but they got back together. What…what about me?" he asked sadly. "I don't wanna be alone anymore." Une looked at him sympathetically. She shouldn't have asked him to come. _He looks so broken and lost…_she thought.

"I'm so sorry Duo. I didn't realize…if you want to go home you can." Duo shook his head,

"No. I'm going to do this mission. My personal life won't get in the way." He said sternly. Une nodded.

"Okay Duo. You can stay in here if you want. The meeting will start in thirty minutes." She stood. Duo nodded as she walked out and shut the door behind her. Duo sighed. _What the hell am I doing?_



A/N: YAY!! I thought it was cute. Anyway enough of my opinion. What do you think of it? REVIEW PLEASE!!

unknownangel


	2. Chapter 2: The Mission

**Does It Matter? **

unknownangel

A/N: Here's the 2nd chapter! I've already finished on the 3rd one so I should have that one up before February. Hopefully.

Thanks to all of you who reviewed!! I'm glad you liked it.

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue

Pairings: 1x2, 3x4

Chapter 2: The Mission

When everyone arrived for the briefing, Duo was looking out the window at the snow falling gently over the city. It had started to snow not too long ago. This being one of the few times Duo could really appreciate the beauty of falling snow.

"Okay everyone let's start." Duo tore himself from the gorgeous view, followed them to a larger table, and sat down between Heero and some other Preventer.

"Now, those of you who don't know him, this is Duo Maxwell, pilot 02." Une said. The Preventers who didn't know him nodded in his direction and the teen returned the greeting.

"Everyone knows why they're here, having been briefed on this mission a few days ago, but Duo doesn't so Lieutenant Parks will give you some information." Duo nodded, and then the Lieutenant stood and started speaking.

"They call themselves the Blue Dragons. One of our agents, who we had go undercover, sent a transmission before he was captured. He said that they have about twenty mobile suits, but he suspected more. He also managed to tell us part of their plans, which was to kidnap the Vice Foreign Minister." _That would explain Relena._ Duo thought.

"What we need is the rest of their plans and anything else you might deem important, Mr. Maxwell." Duo nodded as the Lieutenant sat down and Une stood.

"Duo, I know you aren't a Preventer, but we thank you for coming to help, even taking time away from your job. You are the stealth expert of you five so we really appreciate it." Duo blushed slightly at the compliment.

"Ah, don't worry about my job. It can wait. I might even find inspiration while I'm on this mission." He said smiling slightly. Une nodded smiling.

"Alright, let's go over a plan. Unfortunately, we were unable to get a map of the base so your first mission is to get in, get a map, and get out." Duo nodded.

"Wait. Have you tried hacking the system?" Duo asked. Heero nodded.

"They've got a secure lock. It would be easier if I was closer." Duo looked confused.

"Then wouldn't it make more sense to go there, hack in, get the info, and then leave without having to go in?" Quatre shook his head.

"They've got dogs, guards. It's heavily guarded and we would need to get in close. They have guards surrounding the base up to a thousand meters, and unfortunately, Heero's laptop has to be within that thousand-meter radius." Duo nodded.

"Okay, just wondering. I didn't want to have to do any unnecessary breaking and entering," he said as he stood and walked to the window. It was silent for a while as Duo watched the town, before he turned toward Une with a questioning look.

"You wouldn't happen to have a satellite picture would you?" Une looked surprised before she started looking through the files.

"Um…I think…we do…Yeah, here," she said as she handed it to him. He took it then stared at it.

The picture wasn't very clear, trees everywhere only a few glimpses of a building. _Hmm…the command center should be here…the CO's office should be right...about…HA! There._ Duo thought before he went to sit down. He grabbed a sheet of paper and a pencil and began to draw a layout of the base. The others watched as he quickly drew. With a shout of triumph, he pushed the paper away from himself so the others could see. They stared in awe…well except Heero, Wufei, and Trowa.

"Wow."

"Yeah, that should be how the base is most likely laid out. Either way, it's a start." Une nodded, as Duo continued.

"This way instead of wasting time, I can get in, get the plans and leave; and if you still want a map I can get one." The Lieutenant nodded, and then started talking with the other two officers.

"I don't know Duo…has this ever worked?" Quatre asked. Duo laughed.

"Dr. G only sent pictures of the top of bases for all of my stealth missions. That's all I had to go on, that and my drawings. I think I'm good." The others nodded.

"Okay, well, Duo this is Captain Smith. He's one of our weapons experts; he'll give you whatever you need."

"Nah, I brought all the stuff I would need," he said.

"Alright then meeting over; you're all dismissed. Duo, Heero stay." Duo watched as everyone walked out of the room. As soon as the door shut, Une began.

"I'm sorry Duo; we called you on such short notice that I didn't have time to get you a room. Heero, would you mind? I know you guys used to share a room when you were on missions." Duo looked shocked. _There's no way he'd agree to it! He hated sharing a room with me!_

"No," Duo sighed as Heero spoke. _Cool, I don't have to_-, "…problem. I don't mind." Duo stared at Heero. _He…he agreed! Damn!_

"Okay then. Duo go, get some rest. You need to be here by five."

"At night?" Duo asked hopefully. Une chuckled.

"In the morning," she said, Duo groaned.

"Good night," she laughed before Heero nodded and walked out, with Duo following.

* * *

With a soft click, the door unlocked and opened. Heero walked into the dark apartment, Duo followed him in. The ex- Wing pilot turned on the light and then slid off his Preventers jacket, then motioned for Duo to follow.

The apartment was clean…then again Duo didn't expect it to be any other way. Heero led the braided ex-pilot down a hall to a room.

"Here. Bathroom's across the hall," Heero said monotonously. Duo nodded, before going in and setting his stuff on the bed. Duo stretched.

"Are you hungry?" Duo shook his head.

"Nah. I think I'm gonna get to sleep," Duo said before he looked at Heero's suspicious face. "Since we have to wake up early…ya know." Duo smiled. Heero nodded then walked out, closing the door behind him. Duo sighed then got ready for bed. Not long after he was lying in the bed and staring at the ceiling. He knew Heero probably suspected something, but oh well. Then Duo closed his eyes and was fast asleep.

* * *

Duo ran through the dark forest. Earlier that day he had been in the Sanc Kingdom, now he was somewhere in the middle of some European country. Earlier that day he was with everyone else and wasn't scheduled to leave until seven that night. Right now, it's eight o'clock. He left at seven o'clock, fourteen hours ahead of time. He couldn't take it anymore!

* * *

_::Flashback Begins::_

_Duo sat at the table in the briefing room, bored. Someone was talking; he didn't know whom but someone was. Duo yawned, then sighed. He was tired and hungry and the information the guy had wasn't even relevant to him! The man continued to talk as Duo started playing with his pencil. Not long after a loud bang startled half the rooms' occupants. _

"_Maxwell!" Duo, who was unaffected and still playing with his pencil, looked up at the angry Chinese man. _

"_Yeah?" he asked bored. Wufei fumed._

"_You should be listening! This information is important!" he yelled. Duo continued to look bored, as he looked back down at his pencil._

"_No, actually, its not; not to me anyway."_

"_Really, why's that?" _

"_Because _Wuffers_, I was only called here to infiltrate; you know, get the plans. Then I'm going home. That's why it's not important to me." Duo finished, looking toward the window. You could practically see steam coming from Wufei's ears. Quatre tried to cut in. _

"_Guys could you please not fight." Duo looked at Quatre. _

"_Sorry Quat." Duo said before he sat down. _

"_Sorry?" Wufei said incredulously. "Sorry for what? Being an annoying son of a bitch?" Wufei asked._

"_Wufei!" Quatre yelled standing up quickly. Duo looked at Wufei emotionlessly. _

"_No…it's okay Quatre." Duo said as he stood. Heero looked at Duo questioningly. _What's up with him? He would've yelled at Wufei for that. _Heero thought. _

"_No Duo, it's not." Quatre said as Duo walked to the door. _

"_Why did you come?" Wufei asked. Duo froze then grabbed the doorknob. _

"_Because I didn't want to believe it," he said before walking out of the room. Une was the first to recover._

"_What the hell was that?" she yelled at Wufei. He just sat down with an angry look on his face; Quatre hugged Trowa tightly, while the tall, quiet teen watched. Heero watched the door half-expecting Duo to walk back through; face emotionlessly. _

"_Damnit! Damn you! All of you!" Une yelled as she stood glaring at the others. _

"_He trusted you! He…oh my god… I can't believe…Augh!" she yelled frustrated. She took a few deep breathes before continuing calmly…well…as calmly as she could. _

"_You guys were supposed to be his friends. He trusted you. He thought you guys were real. All the people he's loved have either died or left him. He was hoping you guys wouldn't. Poor Duo. Always losing people and things he cares for." As she spoke, she got softer. _

"_You're all dismissed. I'm going after Duo." With that she left the room leaving behind a heavily atmosphere. _

* * *

"_Duo! Duo stop!" Commander Une yelled as she came to a stop at the corner. _

"_Get the plane ready. I'll leave early."_

"_No Duo you can't!" Duo looked at the Commander. Une gasped at the cold, angry stare._

"_Yeah, I can. I'm not a Preventer. I don't have to follow orders. I'm leaving early. Besides there are some things I could do before I have to break in." Une looked ready to protest, before Duo cut in. _

"_I'm leaving." He stated sternly. She sighed. _

"_Fine," she nodded, "I'll go set it up. Meet me at the base in an hour." She said as she walked off. _

* * *

That was how Duo ended up here. After landing, he looked around town; eavesdropped on conversations; ate; then when night fell, he set out to break into the base.

He hid in the shadows of the trees, watching the guard on duty; the man looked tired and was swaying. Then the guard turned and walked around the corner, out of sight. Duo took this chance to quickly run over to where the guard stood, covering an air duct opening. The braided ex-pilot quickly climbed in, placed the cover back on the quietly made his way through the duct. After an hour of moving, waiting, moving, looking at his map, and moving Duo finally found the command center. He looked through the vent and, not seeing anyone, pushed it open and crawled out. He then hooked up his laptop to the main computer, put his earpiece in and contacted Commander Une. They were standing by waiting for him.

"You in?" Une asked, before the room showed up.

"Yeah, I'm hacking into the computer. Not very hard."

"Were they expecting you?"

"Not that I could tell. " Une nodded.

"Here we go. I'm sending you the info now." He said, as he looked his laptop. As the file was sending he read through some of the plans. _Kidnap Relena…take over world…new drug…children…ne-_ Duo stopped. Children? He went back and read the file.

"Duo, we've received the information. You're free to go." Une said.

"No." Everyone looked at him surprised.

"What?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Their plans. One of them…296 children were kidnapped and being used as test subjects in some stupid experiment."

"Duo, you aren't a Preventer, you said so yourself." Une said. Duo looked at her.

"Yeah, I also said it wasn't my problem, but…the kids. I can't leave them here."

"Duo, this is **not** a rescue mission!" Wufei yelled. Duo glared at him, causing the Chinese man to look at him shocked.

"It turned into one. " Duo looked at the others. Heero nodded when his and Duo's eyes locked.

"Duo!"

"Duo out." With that, he disconnected and unhooked all his stuff, before leaving the room. In the air duct, he compared his map with the one he drew. _Heh and they doubted me. _He looked at the map on the laptop and located where the children were being held. _Southwest of my current position. _

* * *

"What the hell does he think he's doing?" yelled Une. Trowa shook his head.

"He has a soft spot for children." Quatre said. Une sighed.

"He could jeopardize the mission." Said the Lieutenant.

"Let's go get him then." Une said as she stood.

"No." Heero said.

"Heero?" Quatre asked, "What is it?"

"Let Duo do what he wants."

"Why should we?" Wufei asked.

"Theirs plans for the children." He said before he stared out the window.

"What about them?"

"No matter what we say or do, nothing will change Duo's mind. There's no point." Everyone sighed.

"Heero's right. If there is anything we can do, Duo will contact us. We'll have to wait." Quatre said as he stood. They nodded then Une and the other three Preventers left, leaving the four ex-pilots alone in the room.

"You know…Commander Une was right." Quatre said quietly. Trowa hugged his lover, as Quatre put his head in his hands. Wufei huffed knowingly. Heero looked back at them before turning and looking out the window again. _Why did he come? _Heero thought. He still wasn't able to understand why, and it was starting to make him angry. Duo had said it was because he didn't want to believe it but…he should've known. He's not that stupid. Not that it mattered. Heero had actually missed Duo. He knew Quatre had as well as the other two; he knew it, Trowa knew it, Quatre knew it of course, but did Wufei know?

* * *

Duo glared at the walls of the vent he was in. It had been twenty minutes and he was still crawling through the air duct. He continued around a corner and almost leapt with joy. Good thing he didn't…that would've been a nasty headache. He looked through the grate and saw five kids and no one else. He looked at the room. All the kids were huddled together in one corner; in another corner was a toilet. On the wall opposite Duo was a metal door with one window and bars on it. He pushed at the grate gently and a soft 'pop' later, it was crawled out and stretched. He then smiled at the kids.

"Hey now, don't be scared." He said quietly as he knelt down in front of them. One of the kids, the biggest one, put the others behind him and glared at Duo. The braided teen laughed. The boy looked about twelve years old; covered in dirt, which made his blonde hair seem brown, but his eyes stayed a bright green.

"I'm here to rescue you." The kid visibly relaxed.

"You…are?" he asked. Duo looked form him to a girl about nine, to another girl about five, and a pair of twin boys that looked about eight. He nodded smiling.

"Yeah." He said then went back to the air duct vent and took out his laptop. He turned it on then contacted Heero. A second later Heero's impassive face showed up on the screen.

"Yes Duo?" he asked.

I found the kids, I need a plane." Heero nodded then started typing.

"I can be there in an hour."

"Alright I'll give you our new coordinates when we get out."

"Roger that." Duo nodded as the screen went blank. He turned back to the kids.

"Come on let's get outta here." They nodded then hurriedly climbed into the vent.

"Who's the oldest?" Duo asked as he put the grate back on.

"Me. I'm Jake."

"Okay Jake the first right you see, take it." With that, they started moving. Jake in the front followed by Bryan (8), the oldest of the twins, Kyle (8), his twin, Karen, the oldest girl (9), and then Chloe (5) following in front of Duo. After several pauses and turns, they made it to the grate Duo came in through. He squeezed to the front and, spotting no one, pushed it out. He climbed out the motioned for the kids to do so as well.

* * *

"No. I'm not betting you anything," said one solider as he walked down the corridor.

"Come on. You know he's gay and he's hitting on you. I'm betting you're gay too," said another.

"I'm not gay!" yelled the first one as he handed his partner the keys to the kids' cell.

"Yeah whatever fag." Laughed the second solider, but stopped short after he opened the door.

"What?" asked the first before looking, "Oh…damn."

* * *

As the little girl made it out of the vent, the alarm went off. Duo cursed then picked up Chloe.

"Come on. Let's go!" he said as he took off running, but not too fast for the kids. Not too long after, they heard dogs barking and people shouting. As they ran Duo's phone went off. He answered.

"Duo coordinates." Heero said. Duo cursed again, then saw an abandoned church. He ran inside, then gave his location.

"I also have five kids with me." Duo said as he hid the kids.

"Yeah okay." Duo then hung up.

"Okay, if I'm not here when my friend gets here, don't worry alright. My friend is a Preventer. Now he's gonna come in and say a code. If it's the right code, you can come out, if not don't move." The children nodded. Duo smiled.

"Good. Now the code is Shinigami. Okay?" he said. They nodded again.

"They're in here!" they heard. Duo smiled one last time before he left and went another way. Not long after all they heard was silence.

* * *

A/N: Well…it's finally up. I hope you liked it. As I said at the beginning, I've finished the 3rd chapter so…yeah…I'm pretty bad about updating SORRY! Review please!!

unknownangel


	3. Chapter 3: The Rescue

**Does It Matter?**

unknownangel

A/N: Okay here's the 3rd chapter. I think I wrote too much but, oh well.

Thanks to those who reviewed, as always I'm glad you liked it.

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

Pairings: 1x2, 3x4

Chapter 3: The Rescue

The children waited for what seemed like hours before they heard a door open. They huddled closer together, wondering and hoping it was the braided teens' friend.

"I could've sworn those kids were with him," someone said. The kids' eyes widened. They heard shuffling, footsteps, things being moved.

"Hey! Who're you?" yelled the solider before a gunshot was heard. The kids hugged each other, shaking in fear. Then they heard footsteps stop in front of where they hid.

"Shinigami." They heard. Jake looked up then untangled himself from the others and slowly looked out from behind the barricade that hid them. He saw a guy slightly taller than the teen who rescued them, and he wore a Preventer uniform. He smiled then motioned for the others to come.

Heero waited patiently for a minute before he spotted the children. _Duo did say five…where's Duo?_ Hero thought.

"Hi, mister!" Jake said, "Thanks for coming to get us." Heero nodded.

"Where's Duo?" he asked. The kids grew sad.

"We don't know. He put us there and-" Heero cut him off.

"Let's go. Tell me later. "With that he picked up Chloe and they walked quickly through a patch of forest then got into a shuttle at a small airfield.

"Okay. What happened?" Heero asked after he took off and set the plane on autopilot.

"Mr. Duo left us there and went off. We don't know where." Jake said. _Hmm…was he caught?_ Heero thought before something 'beeped'. Heero got up, pushed a button, and a screen popped up. It was Duo.

"Hey Heero! I hope you've got the kids. I'm still here, oh, and it's just a message. Anyway, just thought I'd let you know, Colonel Schwartz is one of the higher officers of the Blue Dragons. I sent you some other stuff I think you might need." He said quickly. There was some noise in the background, barking and yelling.

"Take care of the kids for me. Thanks," Duo said sincerely before there was an explosion and Duo disconnected. Heero sat down. Chloe walked up to him.

"Awe you gonna take cawe of uth?" she asked. Heero looked at the small brown haired girls' big eyes. She reminded him of Duo. Long brown hair tied back into a braid and dark purplish- blue eyes. Heero nodded. The kids smiled at him.

"Are you gonna go save Mr. Duo?" Asked one Kyle, the youngest twin. Heero looked at him.

"Yeah, we are."

* * *

"Welcome Mr. Maxwell." Said Colonel Schwartz. Duo spat blood at him. His body hurt but he'd have to find out exactly what's wrong later. _Damn, I've got a killer headache. _Duo thought before the Colonel punched him. 

"Now," said Schwartz," You're going to help us." Duo chuckled.

"Like hell I am."

"Oh I'm sure I can give you a very good reason to do so." Smiled the Colonel.

"Really?" Duo asked. "I highly doubt it."

"Well, we'll see." Said the Colonel, as he nodded at two soldiers before walking out of the dim room. Duo smirked then looked at eh two guys left with him.

"So guys, what are we gonna play?" he asked. The brown haired solider smirked then punched Duo's left cheek, before the braided ex-pilot could recover, the black-haired solider punched him in the stomach. _Oh...that game…yay._ Duo thought as he landed on the ground.

* * *

The hangar door shut, a plane door opened, and its' passengers walked off. Une and the three other ex-pilots were waiting. Heero, who was carrying Chloe, and the other kids walked to them. The Commander smiled. 

"Wow Heero. I never would've guessed you of all people to have a soft spot for kids," Une said, looking from Chloe to Karen. Quatre chuckled softly.

"Well, let's go back to HQ," Une said before she turned and walked through the door.

"Hold on."

"Heero?" Quatre said questioningly as the ex-pilot handed Chloe off to him. Then the teen walked toward the CO's office. The other's looked from him back to each other, before following him.

"Heero, what are you doing?" Une asked, but the teen didn't stop. He opened the door, pulled his gun out and trained it on the surprised CO. The others watched.

"What is the meaning of this?" asked the Colonel. Commander Une looked to Heero.

"Colonel Schwartz is one of the Blue Dragons higher officials." Quatre gasped.

"What? How do you know?" Une asked.

"Duo, before he was captured, sent me a message telling me." He confirmed. Colonel Schwartz scoffed.

"He must have been lying." Heero glared at the man and took the safety off his gun.

"Duo doesn't lie, and I've confirmed it. When he sent the information, he sent a list of all the members of your organization. You, Colonel Schwartz, are number six on that list." Une glared at the seething Colonel.

"Arrest him. Now!" she said. Wufei moved forward but stopped when a gun was pointed at him.

"Not very bright are you," Wufei said. The man smirked.

"On the contrary, I am," he said before he hit a button on his desk. Red lights flashed and a loud beeping was heard.

"Shit. He triggered the self-destruct mechanism," yelled Une.

"Why the hell do you **have **a self-destruct button?!" yelled Wufei. Commander Une shrugged.

"Commander Une!" yelled someone. They all turned toward the voice. "Private Aaron ma'am. I'll help carry the kids," he said as he picked up Karen. The Commander nodded then they all ran out as fast as they could.

* * *

"Well…he got away," Une said before she sighed. 

"What's gonna happen to us?" Jake asked uncertainly. Une looked at him then at the other children.

"I can watch them," Aaron offered, "Mr. Duo asked me if I could. He said you guys would be busy." They looked at him.

"He contacted you?" Quatre asked. Aaron nodded.

"When?" asked Heero.

"Um…at about 0730."

That means-,"Quatre said.

"Yeah," Wufei said before turning to the brown-haired haired private.

"How did he get a hold of you?"

"Um…I think he said his watch. Oh right, he told me to tell you 73-5128. Whatever that means. He said you would know." Wufei looked at him skeptically.

"I don't know…" Quatre said. Trowa shook his head.

"What the hell does that mean?" Wufei asked. A short silence followed.

"I know." Heero said as he powered up his laptop. He typed some stuff, working fast, while the others waited.

"Duo?" Heero said, then a small picture of Duo appeared on the screen. Dirt and blood mixed together as he smiled at them.

"Hey buddy…ah…I mean Heero. You got the kids right?" Duo asked hopefully. Heero nodded.

"That's good," Duo said relieved.

"Schwartz got away." Duo looked at him, then sighed.

"Okay."

"We're sorry Duo. We know that now he's going to be harder on you," Quatre said. Duo chuckled.

"No problem Quat. I can handle it."

"Duo…you sure?"

"Yeah, don't worry." Quatre nodded with a worried look on his face. Duo then looked away from them.

"Hmm…looks like I've gotta go. Bye." With that the screen went blank.

"He looked pretty beat up," Une said softly.

"We'll just have to hurry then" Aaron said, " Well…you will anyway." They looked at him.

"You are his friends right?" he asked. The ex-pilots looked at each other.

"Of course," Quatre said determinedly.

"Yes," said Trowa softly. Then everyone looked at Wufei. His expression was unsure for a moment before he straightened and nodded.

"Yeah."

"Hai. Let's go," Heero said as he stood. Une smiled as they walked out the door.

* * *

Duo sighed after he disconnected. Keys jingled in the door before it opened causing Duo to squint from the bright light. Two guards walked in then dragged him to his feet. He chuckled. 

"Wow guys, you're strong," he said. One of the guards pushed him forward causing him to stumble slightly. They lead him through the base and stopped at a door ten minutes later. They punched in a code and the door opened revealing a room with one chair and table. Duo looked at the table _'They brought toys…yay,'_ he thought as they forced him into the seat, then tied to the chair and handcuffed him. Then someone else walked in.

"Ah. Mr. Maxwell, good to see you." Duo grinned.

"Hey, I see you escaped my band of friends, good job," he said. The Colonel glared, before he punched Duo causing him to bit his lip.

"Yes, I escaped. You, however, you won't," he said as he grabbed a knife from the table.

"You are going to answer my questions. Understand?"

"Sure," Duo said grinning, despite the cut on his lip.

"I heard from a very reliable source that you don't lie. That true?" Duo raised an eyebrow.

"Yep, that's true."

"Okay then. What are their weaknesses?"

"What are whose weaknesses?" Schwartz punched him again.

"Don't act stupid! The Gundam pilots, what are their weaknesses?"

"Oh, well you should have been specific," Duo said before he pretended to think,

"Well, Wufei hates pink," he said. The Colonel growled before he lashed out and cut Duo's cheek.

"What are their weaknesses boy?" Duo sighed then winced slightly, feeling blood flow down his cheek.

"Fine," he said, "Quatre has a tea fetish." The Colonel then held the knife up to Duo's neck; Duo could feel his skin ripping from the force the man was putting behind it.

"What are their weaknesses!" the Colonel seethed.

"Man you sure get angry easily. **We **don't have weaknesses," Duo said smirking. The Colonel growled then stood. A small stream of blood trickled down Duo's neck. The old man looked at Duo then to the door, then back to Duo and smirked.

"You two," Schwartz said to the two guards in the room, "Make sure Mr. Maxwell has a good time. I'll be right back. I'm going to go get our new treatment for stupidity." Duo looked confused.

"Oh, Mr. Maxwell, you'll like this. You'll like this very much."

* * *

The four ex-pilots sat and the plane headed to the enemy base. 

"Okay, so me and Trowa are gonna set bombs by the mobile suits. Wufei, you and Heero are going to go find Duo. Try not to kill anyone if possible," Quatre said. They nodded then separated so they could prepare. Heero looked out the window. _'Duo…how long has it been? Two years? You've changed; your hair's longer, you've gotten taller, but your eyes…they surprised me.'_

"Heero, we're almost there," Quatre said quietly. Heero looked to him and nodded.

"Is something wrong Heero?" the blonde asked. The brown haired teen looked back out the window then back to Quatre and shook his head. The blonde nodded before he walked back to Trowa; not long after, they were running through the forest toward the enemy base.

"Okay, this is where we split up," Quatre said when they stopped. Everyone nodded then took off.

"Trowa here's the vent." Trowa nodded then took the covering off and climbed in after Quatre. They crawled through the vents using a map Duo sent them. Quatre stopped then motioned to Trowa that this was the room. When they got out of the vents they separated and started placing bombs. An hour later they met up and contacted Heero and Wufei.

"Heero, which way now?" Wufei asked angrily. He was tired of the vents. Heero looked at the map.

"This way," he said as he turned a corner, crawled a little ways and stepped out of the vent, Wufei not far behind.

"This is where they held Duo, before he hung up, right?" Wufei asked. Heero nodded.

"Then where-," Wufei stopped when he heard voices outside the door. The two ex-pilots crawled quickly back into the vent.

"Heero, it's Quatre, what's your status?" Heero watched the door as he answered.

"We found where he was being held, Duo isn't here."

"Oh. Well-"

"Hold on," Heero said cutting him off. The door opened a second later and Duo was thrown into the room.

"Now, I think we've tried hard enough. You apparently won't talk so I'll have to use this. Maybe this'll help you," Colonel Schwartz said as he walked into the room/.

'_A shot? What is he giving Duo?' _Heero thought. The man shoed the needle into Duo's arm and pushed the liquid out. Heero saw Duo's face scrunch up in pain before he relaxed somewhat. The Colonel laughed,

"Maybe you'd be willing to talk now. I'm pretty sure you'll want the antidote for that," the man said before him and the guards left.

"We've found Duo." Heero said before he pushed the grate out and moved quickly to the fallen teen.

"Duo?" Wufei whispered as he checked for his pulse. Duo didn't answer.

"It's weak," Wufei said. Heero nodded then they helped the braided teen up. Duo groaned then opened his eyes slightly.

"Duo." Heero said; the other's eyes shifted up. He nodded.

"Can you walk?" Wufei asked. Duo shook his head. They nodded then started walking, but Duo's legs gave out.

"We'll have to carry him," Wufei said. Heero nodded then bent down and picked up the braided teen, one hand behind his back the other under his knees. Wufei carefully put Duo's braid on the teens' chest before he walked to the door.

"Quatre," Heero said.

"Yeah?"

"Detonate them." He said just before Wufei Shot the lock off the door. A second later they heard an explosion and the ground shake slightly. Wufei pushed through the door and shot the surprised guard. Then they hurriedly made their way out of the base. Not long after they met up with Trowa and Quatre.

"This way!" Quatre yelled as they followed him. They ran into trouble a few times before they reached the door.

"Wait!" Heero said. The others stopped.

"Schwartz injected Duo with something. He said there was an antidote. We'll need that," he said.

"Heero we don't-"

"Take him. I'll catch up." He said as he walked to Trowa. The green-eyed teen nodded then took the semi-conscious teen from Heero.

"Take care of him." Was all Heero said, before he ran off back in the direction they came from. Quatre smiled slightly.

"He's changed," he said. The other two nodded before they headed out of the base.

* * *

"There he is!" Heero heard before guns went off. The ex-Wing pilot clucked behind a corner and pulled out his own gun. When the firing stopped he stepped out and shot at two soldiers. Then he crossed the hall into the lab. He heard shuffling in a corner and whipped around. He saw a scientist standing at the door ready to flee. The scientist looked up. 

"You're…you're a Preventer?" he asked relieved. Heero nodded.

"Oh thank god."

"Who are you?" Heero asked.

"I'm Scott Harrison. I'm a scientist, they kidnapped me." Heero looked at him suspiciously. _'Hm…Scott Harrison…that's right he went missing six months ago.' _Heero thought.

"My friend," Scott looked at him, "He was injected with something, what was it?" Heero asked. Scott looked at him wide-eyed.

"He was?" Heero nodded.

"Schwartz said there was an antidote." Heero looked at him. Scott didn't ask how Heero asked Schwartz or where he got it from .

"There was. He took it." Heero glared at the scientist.

"I know how to make it. I'm the one who came up with the antidote." Heero looked at him suspiciously.

"They couldn't find me that's why I'm not dead. All those children," the man's voice got softer as he spoke, "I'd like to help." Heero nodded then motioned for the scientist to follow him. They ran through the base with little to no trouble. Then they ran through the forest to the small airfield and hurriedly got on the plane.

"Heero, who's he?" Quatre asked as he placed a bandage over a cut on Duo's arm.

"I'm Scott Harrison." Quatre nodded, as Heero walked to the braided teen.

"How is he?" he asked quietly.

"Well, he lost some blood, he has lots of bruises but no broken bones and the cuts weren't too deep," Quatre said before he laid a blanket over the teen.

"You scientist. What did Schwartz do to Duo?" Wufei asked getting Scotts' attention.

"It's a drug. It's supposed to induce pain and cause hallucinations." Quatre looked at him shocked. Scott nodded sadly.

"Yeah, I know, it's a horrible thing, and the children…Damn! I wish I could've done something!" he said angrily, before sighing.

"I did, however, make an antidote."

"Where is it?" Wufei asked.

"Schwartz took it." Heero said from his seat on the floor by Duo.

"Damn!" Wufei exclaimed just as Trowa came up.

"All systems are on auto-pilot. We're headed for an airport by HQ. An ambulance will be ready to take him to Sally." He said quietly. Heero nodded, then they heard a moan come from Duo and turned to look at him. Heero sat on his knees and watched the teens' face.

"Duo," Heero said when the teens' eyes started fluttering open.

"He...Heero?" Duos croaked out before he took in a deep breathe, then gasped in pain.

"Yes, Duo." Duo nodded slightly, then tried to sit up. Heero was about to push him down when the teen cried out and grabbed his head in pain.

"Duo!" Quatre yelled but Trowa held him back. The ex- Deathscythe pilot continued to hold his head and started breathing hard. Heero grabbed the teen then pulled him to his chest.

"Duo what is it?" Heero asked, his voice containing a hint of concern.

"That's the drug," Scott said sadly.

"You know how it works start talking!" Wufei yelled. Scott nodded.

"First it starts in the head then over a certain period of time, it'll move down the body, till his whole body feels like it'll burst."

"How long will it take?" Trowa asked. Scott looked down in shame.

"Out of all the children tested…the longest survival…was…three weeks." he said. Quatre gasped then looked at Duo before he buried his face in Trowas' chest crying. Heero continued to hug Duo to him then tightened his grip. He could feel Duo's quick and pained breathes against his neck and tears and blood from Duo's now open cuts, flowing down his neck, soaking his shirt.

"Shh…Duo." Duo cried softly as he clung tightly at his head and Heero.

"It hurts Heero…it…"Heero squeezed the boy. They stayed that way till Duo passed out from the pain. Heero wiped away the tears on Duo's face gently.

"How long will it take to make the antidote?" Heero asked.

"That depends, If I can get what I need fast then the faster it'll go." Scott said running a hand through his black hair. Heero looked to Wufei, who nodded.

"Come with me. You're gonna get that stuff," he said as he walked to the controls. Heero turned back to the sleeping Duo in his lap. _'He looks so peaceful. Damn it! What were we thinking?"'_ he thought.

"When Scott gets back, we'll have to ask him if Duo's okay to be sedated." Trowa said. Heero nodded as he brushed Duo' s bangs from his eyes, gently caressing his face. The braided teen moved so he was directly on Heero's lap and resting his head against the ex-Wing pilots' shoulder. _'I'm sorry Duo. I'm so sorry.'_ Heero thought as he lightly kissed the sleeping teens' forehead.

* * *

A/N: SORRY!!!!!!! I'm so sorry I haven't put this up yet. I just finished typing it. I've been so busy but that is no excuse!! Now, I have finished writing the 4th chapter, over the next three weeks I will try to get as much typing done as possible although that might be hard, I've got finals coming up but I will try! I'm also in the process of writing chapter 5. 

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

unknownangel


	4. Chapter 4: Regret

**Does It Matter?**

unknownangel

A/N: Okay here's the 4th chapter. I'm so sorry it took so long to put up. It's summer now so hopefully I can finish the 5th chapter before school starts.

Thanks to those who reviewed, as always I'm glad you liked it.

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

Pairings: 1x2, 3x4

Chapter 4: Regret

It was cold that night as they waited in the hospital room. Duo lay on the bed, an IV tube in his right arm and the heart monitor beeping rhythmically. A cold and uncomfortable silence had settled in the dark room. Quatre sighed.

"What are we going to do?" Everyone in the room looked up at him. Heero looked back to Duo a moment later. He too was at a loss as to what to do for the first time I his life he didn't know.

"At least he's able to be sedated. He won't feel the pain," Scott said as he walked to the bed, looking directly at Heero.

"I have all the things I need to make the antidote. I'm going to start tonight. The process however will take two weeks."

"What?" Wufei said angrily. Scott looked at him sadly.

"Why two weeks? Can't you work faster!"

"Wufei stop. He's been kind enough to help us," Quatre said, but he two was curious as to why it would take this long.

"Usually it takes about four weeks to make." Heero looked at him. Scott saw the look and answered the unspoken question. "I'm going to be working day and night, so it won't take as long." Quatre smiled sadly.

"Thank you for helping us. After all this we're all going on a vacation," he said. Scott nodded, smiled then turned to around to leave. Just as he put his hand on the doorknob, the door opened quickly and forcefully. _**SMACK**_ Everyone looked up in surprise as Jake and the other kids ran into the room. Aaron walked in smiling before he noticed the scientist hunched over.

"What happened?" he asked as he went to help Scott.

"Um…the door…" Quatre said, still shocked. Aaron nodded then glared at Jake before he watched the scientist. Scott held his head where the door had connected with it. He took his hand away and saw his hand covered in blood. He looked at it dumbfounded. Aaron did as well.

"Jake!" he said as he went and grabbed a towel from the bathroom. He came back and held it against the black haired man's head. The boy looked to them.

"Apologize!" Jake looked at the Preventer before looking at the taller man beside him.

"No."

"Come on Jake. You hit him with a door!"

"No! He's a bad guy!" Jake said. Aaron sighed before he led the scientist out of the room to find a doctor.

"Jake, he's helping us save Duo," Quatre said softly.

"I don't care!" he huffed, "He killed people." Quatre looked at the child sadly…there wasn't much you could say to that so Quatre let it be. Hopefully he'd be well enough to start the antidote tonight. It was quiet again, the kids sat by the bed except Chloe who took a seat in Quatres' lap. Just as Quatre was about to fall asleep, they heard a moan.

"Hurry get a doctor!" Quatre said. Wufei ran out the door. Heero stood and waited hoping Duo wouldn't wake up. Trowa got the kids away from the bed, then it was quiet. Heero closed his eyes and sighed in relief before he opened them again; then his heart fell. The purplish-blue eyes of the one teen he loved started to open.

"Shit," he said. Quatre felt his heart drop.

"Hee-," Duo croaked out, before he yelled. He wrapped his arms around his stomach and squeezed himself into a ball ripping out the IV in the process. Heero grabbed him and tried to calm him down.

"Duo-," The braided teen cried out again; thrashing around.

"No!"

"Duo I know it hurts but I need you to stop!" Heero said still trying to get him to calm down. The kids watched wide eyed, crying. Jake felt his eyes tear up. _'They gave it to Mr. Duo too?' _he thought, _'No…'_

"Jake!" Quatre yelled as the boy ran from the room. Duo cried out again. Heero hugged the boy to him. Not caring about the blood getting on him or the tears from Duo' eyes. He listened as the boy whimpered loudly and cried; Heero's chest tightened painfully and he squeezed Duo tightly.

* * *

'_What's…what's going on?'_ he thought before another wave of pain hit him. _'What-Argh!'_ He could feel Heero's arms around him and the hard chest his head was crushed into. In any other situation he would have been overjoyed…but the pain…

"Heero-," Duo said as the pain subsided slightly. "What…what's wrong…with…argh!" Duo squeezed his eyes shut, tears leaked out of the corner of his eyes and slid down his face.

"Schwartz injected a drug into you that causes pain and hallucinations," Heero replied softly. Duo nodded just as another of pain hit.

"B…bastard," Duo said through clenched teeth.

* * *

Jake ran down the hall frantically, tears streaming down his face; he ignored any and everyone who told him to stop running. He stopped and looked around breathlessly.

"Jake?" The boy spun around then flung himself at the tall man beside the who called his name.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please! Please help Mr. Duo!" Jake cried. The scientist looked up surprised at the small boy hugging his leg. He knelt down then held the boy out and smiled.

"Don't worry about it. I'll help him."

"Jake, why are you crying?" Scott asked as he wiped away the tears.

"Mr…Mr. Duo woke up and… and started screaming," he said. Scott gasped then picked the boy up and with Aaron following, ran back to the room. They threw open the door and Scott set the boy down.

"He woke up, do you have any sedatives on you?" Trowa asked as he hugged the twins. Scott nodded as he took out the syringe.

"He tore out his IV," Quatre added, wiping his own tears from his face while trying to calm the two girls down.

"Mr. Yuy, why don't you tell him first; before I put him under." Heero nodded.

"Duo?" Heero called softly. The boy that clung to him nodded slightly before he clenched his teeth and tried to hold back a whimper.

"We're going to sedate you alright? You won't feel the pain."

"NO!" he shouted.

"Duo we have to or-,"

"No! I…won't do it!"

"Duo don't be stupid."

"I'm not! Argh! I'm-,"

"Yes Duo you are."

"No!" he yelled as he pushed Heero away. He rolled and turned his back to the ex-wing pilot and curled into a tight ball.

"Duo,"

"No…I…I won't…I can handle it…I'm not weak!" he grounded out forcefully. Quatre looked at him shocked.

"You think-,"

"Stupid!" Wufei yelled as he came in with Sally.

"You think that if we put you under we'll think you're weak?" Duo relaxed slightly ten tensed again. Heero walked around the bed and looked at Duo's face. Sweat was rolling down, his cheeks looked flushed and exhausted.

"Duo," Heero said softly, "If you don't take the sedative, you'll be in pain until you pass out."

"I don't ca-ahh!" Duo bit back. Heero sighed.

"Duo please, please take it." Duo heard the pleading in the others' voice and opened his eyes. Concern swam in the dark prussian eyes with a mix of pain. _'Heero sure has changed.'_ he thought.

"Duo, we hate seeing you in pain." He heard. A moment passed; another pain-filled minute; before Duo nodded.

"Fine," he said as he closed his eyes. Heero gently placed a hand on the other's forehead and pushed back sweat-soaked bangs.

"Thank you Duo," Heero whispered just before Scott injected the sedative. Duo nodded, mumbling out an 'I love you Heero' before his eyes closed and he went limp. Heero stood shocked for a moment. The others didn't hear, but Heero sure did. He smiled lightly before he pulled the covers back over him, which he had kicked off in his attempt to get rid of the pain. Quatre sighed, as he cradled Chloe. Aaron held Jake as the boy finished crying, while Trowa soothed the twins, and Karen somehow ended up in Wufeis' arms.

"Well, I'll go start on the antidote now." Aaron nodded.

"Come on kids," he said before he set Jake down and took the now sleeping Chloe from Quatre gently. Aaron walked out with the kids and Scott following.

"I'll go see if I can get any more information on Schwartz and where they went," Wufei said.

"We'll go help him, okay Heero?" Quatre asked. Heero nodded as he sat in a chair by Duo's bed.

"Love you too Duo," Heero whispered as he kissed the others' hand gently before a nurse walked in to put the IV back in.

* * *

Scott turned back to face the road as Aaron drove to the Preventer headquarters. The kids asleep in the back seats. He sighed. Aaron glanced at him.

"Something on your mind?" Aaron asked softly as he stopped at a red light. Scott looked to him.

"I shouldn't be here," he said turning his head to look out his window. Aaron looked at him confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I killed all those kids-,"

"NO!" Aaron exclaimed as he slammed on the brakes. Scott gasped and braced himself before looking back at the kids to make sure they were okay.

"Holy…what is wrong with you?" Scott looked at him slightly shaken. Luckily there was no one on the road. The scientist looked at the Preventer.

"How can you say that! You are alive! You can make up for killing those kids by saving Mr. Duo and anyone else that gets injected with that stuff!"

"I could've stopped it…" Scott said looking down, not wanting to look at the man sitting next to him.

"Oh really?" Aaron asked before he shook his head. "Then what would've happened? You'd be dead."

"Ah…but-,"

"No," Aaron said his previous rage replaced with a calm yet sad face.

"You **can** do it. Mr. Duo does. He lives with his guilt and does all he can to help others to make up for the lives he took," Aaron turned so he faced the scientist and laid a hand other the others' hand, "You can do it too…no one blames you." Aaron said as he pulled into the parking garage and parked in his designated spot. They got out and gently woke Jake and the twins. Aaron carefully picked up Chloe and shut the car door while Scott picked up Karen and followed Aaron. They walked to the elevator, got in when the doors opened and Scott pushed the button for the thirty-second floor.

* * *

After putting the children to bed…sort of Scott went to the lab he was provided while Aaron went to get coffee.

"So how long will it take to make the antidote?" Aaron asked as he handed a mug of coffee to the scientist. Scott took a sip of the black liquid, before answering.

"Two weeks at most…although it might take longer."

"Why?"

"I'm the only one here," Scott answered as he slipped his jacket off and put on his lab coat. He then started getting all of the things he needed ready.

"Um…if you don't mind me asking…how old are you?" Scott looked at him.

"Uh…I mean you just…it's…you look so young how could…ummm…sorry." Aaron blushed as he looked down. He felt ashamed for asking. Scott smiled slightly at the blushing teen in front of him, he chuckled softly.

"No, I don't mind. I'm twenty-two." Aaron blinked.

"Then-,"

"I was smart…I skipped quite a few grades." Aaron nodded.

"What about you?" Scott asked. Aaron looked at him confused as Scott prepared everything.

"How old are you? You seem really young to be a Preventer."

"I'm eighteen," Aaron mumbled. Scott turned looking at him surprised.

"You're eighteen and a Preventer? I thought the age limit was twenty…with the exception of the gundam pilots," Scott said.

"It is."

"Then why?" Aaron looked away from the scientist.

"Um…Colonel Schwartz…" Scott looked at him.

"He's my uncle," Aaron said softly looking down, then he jumped when he heard a crash. He looked up at Scott. The man stood rigid, frozen, and a beaker lay in pieces on the floor. Aaron gasped then got up quickly. He went around the table to pick up the pieces of glass. His chest tightened in fear as he knelt over the glass. He wanted Scott to say something, but he feared what the other would say.

"He's…your uncle…" Scott whispered. Aaron gathered all the big pieces of glass in a pile before he tried sweeping all the little pieces into a pile with his hand; which is a very stupid thing to do. He gasped and pulled his hand back when he pressed too hard on a little piece of glass he couldn't see. Scott heard and snapped back to reality and looked down to see Aaron holding his hand as blood flowed from the cut. Scott knelt down and took out a handkerchief before he gently took Aarons' hand and pressed the clothe to the cut. He then stood, bringing Aaron with him to the other side of the room where the sink and a first aid kit were.

It was quiet as Scott cleaned and treated Aarons' wound. Aaron watched the scientist with a slightly pained look.

"I didn't know he was doing any of those things," Aaron whispered. Scott glanced up at him then back to his hand. Aaron felt the need to continue. For some reason he wanted Scott to believe him and not think of him as a bad guy.

"My mom died a year ago and he's my only living family so he had to take me. Apparently I wasn't old enough to do anything on my own. But he was military and had no way of actually taking care of me so he talked with the Commander and she let me join. But I swear I had no idea," Aaron said. Scott sighed then turned around.

"I believe you-,"

"No you don't!" Scott turned around to look at the other. His eyes held a pained look but which pain, emotional or physical, he couldn't tell.

"If you did you wouldn't be acting like that…you wouldn't…" Aaron sniffed slightly before he turned his head the other way. Scott watched him sympathetically before he walked to him and took him into his arms. Aaron hugged him back tightly as he cried. Quiet sobs escaped his body as he clung to the man. Everything that happened actually hitting him now that he was vulnerable. Mr. Duo sympathizing with him…his uncle being part of a bad organization, Mr. Duo being captured and beaten and injected with that stupid drug, and seeing him in pain…he now felt how Scott felt…only he knew it was different. Aaron was watching a nineteen year old go through it, but Scott had to watch children. After awhile he gently pushed Scott back and wiped his eyes, smiling sheepishly.

"Look at me…I'm pathetic…" he chuckled. Scott shook his head, a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, what kind of Preventer are you?" he asked smiling as Aaron looked up at him and laughed.

"The kind that sits at a desk and comes up with battle strategies and firewalls in computer systems so no one can hack into the computers here," he replied. Scott looked at him with shock.

"Wow, you've got a pretty good job now don't you." Aaron laughed again. Scott chuckled before he finished cleaning up the glass, the right way, and got back to work. Aaron watched Scott move from one area to another with different chemicals and things Aaron didn't know. Aaron then pulled up a chair to one of the tables Scott wasn't using and sat at it, watching.

'_What time is it?' _Scott thought as he looked up toward the lock on the wall; 2:54. _'Hmm..'_ he thought, '_Where'd Aaron go?'_ The black haired scientist looked around for a second before settling on the sleeping form of Aaron. He was sitting in the chair, arms folded on the table, head on his arms. _'He looks so cute like that.'_ Scott thought as he smiled gently. He then looked back to his work. _'Okay now it has to sit for a day.'_ He thought as he put the stuff down and went as washed his hands. After that he walked over to the sleeping eighteen year old. He watched him for a second, moved his bangs out of his eyes then gently woke him.

"Come on let's go," Scott whispered when green eyes opened. Aaron nodded.

"You're done already?" he asked softly. Scott helped the still half asleep teen up before replying.

"For now," he said as they walked out. He helped the teen to the elevator and let him lean on him in the elevator. When the doors opened they walked out and down the hall. Scott stopped at a door and opened it slightly. The kids were sound asleep in the larger king sized bed. The scientist smiled before closing the door and going to the next one. He opened the door and guided Aaron in. The teen walked slowly to one of the beds in the room and flopped down; Scott walked to the bathroom. He walked into the clean, white room and looked around. Clothes were laid out on the counter neatly folded with a note on top. _Thank you for helping_, it said. Scott smiled slightly before he stripped and got into the shower.

* * *

The steady rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor had lulled Heero into a light slumber. His head resting on his arms which lay on the bed. One hand gently held Duo's, squeezing lightly every once in a awhile. Heero's eyes opened slowly. _'Why?'_ he thought,_ 'Why did I do that? I could lose him.'_ Heero sighed. His training was a waste. Dr. J now knows that, and the old man blames Dr. G…too bad for him. The door opened quietly and shut just as softly. He lifted his head to see who it was.

"How is he?" Une asked softly. Heero looked back to Duo's face. The ling haired teen looked relaxed and calm.

"They're giving him a sedative every two hours, so far he hasn't woken up again," Heero replied. Une nodded.

"I can only imagine the pain he has to go through. It must have been terrifying." Heero nodded, before sighing. Une glanced at him, debating with herself.

"Heero, you changed so much in the past three years. It suits you, but I noticed that although you and the others have changed; Duo hasn't. He's the same gundam pilot I met all those years ago." Heero looked confused.

"I think he's trying to stay connected. I mean, maybe he thought you guys wouldn't change, so he didn't. I don't know but, it surprised me when he actually told me. To be honest I didn't expect him to open up to me of all people."

"We never spoke. Not once in three years, When he came I…I realized how much I missed him." Une looked at him sympathetically.

"At first I thought I would be better off. He was loud and annoying but after awhile I missed him talking while I was trying to work."

"It's alright Heero-,"

"No, it's not I ignored him because I was selfish."

"Heero, I think he'll forgive you. It's Duo remember that." After Une said that she stood and walked out the door closing it behind her. Heero sighed again. _'Would you Duo? Would you forgive me?'_ Heero thought. He then felt his hand being squeezed. He looked at Duo and saw his face contort in pain. He stood quickly and checked his watch. 1:47 it said. The sedative still has another half hour. He looked back at Duo after he felt Duo's hand loosen and saw that Duo was calm again.

* * *

_Duo sighed happily as he lay on the soft grass under a tree with the warm light of the sun shining down on him. _

"_It's so peaceful here," he thought. He sat up slightly, leaning on his elbows and looked at the area surrounding him. The city was bustling with people, happy people and it seemed as if they didn't have a care in the world. The long haired boy lay back down and just after he closed his eyes to take a small nap, he felt the earth shake beneath him. He opened his eyes wide then heard an explosion. The ex-pilot sat up quickly, looking to the city. His jaw dropped in shock and his eyes widened in horror. "No…" he thought, "No way…I'm…That's not…" He stood and tried to run forward but the ground shook again and he fell back against the tree. Duo slid down the tree to the ground, staring at the scene before him. The city was being destroyed and all those people were dying. What scared him most, however, was that it was Deathscythe doing the destruction. He heard blood curdling screams, children crying, adults crying and yelling, things exploding, yet saw nothing, having closed his eyes sometime before. Tears leaked from his eyes and flowed down his cheeks. When the massacre stopped the ex-gundam pilot opened his eyes to look at the city. Deathscythe was now gone. _

"_No…" he thought again. He stood but immediately fell to his knees then clutched his head as if he were in pain. _

'_You did it…you killed us…dead…we're dead…because of you…dead…you killed us…kill…your fault…murderer…monster…demon..' he heard._

"_NO!" he yelled, "I'm not a killer!" he collapsed to the ground, tears still flowing down his cheeks, too weak to move. _

"_No…no…"he whispered as he stared off at nothing. The once beautiful sky was now red and clouds threatened rain. The beautiful tree, had no leaves and lack the life that made it a truly breathtaking sight to see. _

"

* * *

A/N: Hello! Yay it's done! Now that this is done I can write the 5th one. Oh the Scott and Aaron thing…sorry I kinda elaborated on them quite a bit. And there's more in the next chapter. Lol I can't help it they're just soo cute! Haha. Anyway you'll see more Aaron/Scott pairing since Duo is out cold and Quatre and Trowa won't get any alone time with Wufei there. Oh while I was typing this I kept accidentally putting Scoot instead of Scott lol…I thought it was pretty funny.

Anyway hope you enjoyed this chapter. I enjoyed writing it.

unknownangel


	5. Chapter 5: Infatuation

**Does It Matter?**

unknownangel

A/N: This is the 5th chapter and it has lots of fluff. Scott and Aaron fluff. Some Quat and Trowa fluff but not much. I'm sorry if this chapter seems slightly boring. The next chapter will have more action I think. Well enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue.

Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, OCxOC

Chapter 5: Infatuation

Scott turned off the water then stepped out of the shower. He quickly dried himself off and put the clothes on before drying his hair as much as possible with the towel. Five minutes later he was walking into the room he shared with Aaron. He threw the towel into a corner of the room then turned toward the beds. He saw Aaron fast asleep with his shoes still on. Scott smiled warmly before he gently took the slightly younger mans' shoes off.

"You'll catch a cold sleeping on top of the blankets," he whispered. Aaron groaned slightly in his sleep as he curled up into a loose ball with his hands tucked under his cheek. The scientist gently slid the covers from under the Preventer then covered him and tucked him in tightly.

"Mmm...Chocolate cake…so good…" Aaron mumbled. Scott chuckled softly as he sat down on the edge of the bed. _This kid…_ Scott thought as he watched the Preventer sleep. Scott was smart, not to brag or anything but he was **really** smart; yet he couldn't figure out why this kid attracted him so much. He was loud, and talked a lot, and he seemed so…so naïve…Scott sighed. _Why?_ He thought as he gently pushed back the teens' bangs. He lightly brushed Aaron's forehead and the touch sent shivers up his arm. _He's so cute though…_ Aaron sighed happily in his sleep as he moved slightly into Scott. The scientist smiled warmly before kissing the others' forehead lightly.

"Good night Aaron." After that Scott set the alarm and climbed into his own bed. _Whatever happens, I'll go along with it. I wonder though…what is our relationship?_ Not long after Scotts' thoughts, he fell asleep wondering whether Aaron could be someone special.

* * *

"Heero?" Quatre said gently as he shook the other lightly. Heero sat up then looked at Quatre. The blonde was smiling slightly.

"Wufei found out where Schwartz might be. Trowa, Wufei, and I, we're going to go check it out."

"I'm going too."

"No Heero." Heero looked up at the blonde, but he shook his head.

"Stay with Duo. He needs you more." With that Quatre walked out of the hospital room leaving Heero with an unconscious Duo and the steady beeping of the heart monitor.

"Be careful," he whispered to himself before he put his head on his hands and stared at the long-haired teen.

* * *

Aaron turned onto his side and groaned lightly as he stretched, before he sat up. He yawned quietly then ran a hand through his messy hair gently before swinging his feet over the side of the bed. He then noticed his shoes were off and he had covers on him. However, he distinctly remembered going to sleep **with** his shoes on and **on top** of the blankets; then snapped his head up after he heard a noise across the room. He relaxed when he saw that it was just Scott.

_Just Scott? When did I stat thinking about him as 'Just Scott?' _he asked himself mentally. He shrugged then stood and quietly made his way over to the others' bed. He knelt down on the soft carpeted floor and stared at the older man's face. Scott had very gentle features and his short black hair fell lightly into his eyes. Aaron gently moved the long bangs behind the scientists' ear. He looked at the others' nose which fit his face just right then to his slightly parted pink lips.

_He's so cute…wait…why did I think that?_ Aaron's eyes widened. _Am I…am I gay?_ He thought then snapped out of his self induced trance when he heard a moan. He looked at Scott and saw his face scrunched up in pain.

"No…deadly…please…children…no…" he mumbled. Aaron looked at him sympathetically, before he gently put his hand on the others' shoulder and shook him lightly.

"Scott."

"No…please…the kids…too cruel…" Scott mumbled a little more clearly. Aaron's eyes grew with concern as he continued to try and wake the scientist.

"Scott wake up," he called gently but the scientist remained asleep.

"No!"

Scott!" Aaron said as he shook him once hard. The other shot up in bed scaring Aaron slightly. Scott was breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath. Aaron sat on the edge of the bed and put a hand on the scientists back, rubbing circles gently.

"You okay?" Aaron asked a few minutes later after Scott calmed down. The man nodded then brought his knees up and wrapped his arms around them before laying his head on his arms.

"Wanna talk about it?" Scott shook his head. He didn't want to remember, he wanted to forget everything that had happened.

"Come on Scott, sometimes it's better to talk about things." Scott looked into Aaron's gentle blue eyes sadly.

"All those children…I watched them suffer…and…and die…I couldn't do…anything…" he whispered shakily, tears building up in his eyes. One fell slowly down his cheek when he clenched his eyes shut.

"I'm…I'm a murderer…" he whispered. Aaron gently wiped the tear from the other's cheek then hugged the man.

"No," Aaron said gently, his own eyes misting, "you made the antidote, you're trying to **save** someone, and you're a good man." Scott slowly relaxed and wrapped his arms around the other's waist. Not long after he couldn't hold it any longer and the tears flowed freely from his eyes. Small sobs wracked the man as Aaron held him gently, rubbing small circles on his back. An hour later, the tears stopped and they sat, still in each other's arms. Scotts' face was on Aaron's shoulder, face toward the teens' neck, eyes closed. Aaron held the man gently, eyes closed, feeling more than seeing Scott calming as the other's breathing evened out.

"Thank you…"Aaron smiled.

"It's no problem Scott, that's what friends do," he said. Scott lifted his head and looked at the Preventer confused.

"Friends?" he asked. Aaron looked at him.

"Um…yeah," he said before looking away, "that is…if you think we are. I mean I consider you one of my friends…not that I really have any but…I mean I guess I was thinking of myself-" Scott put a finger to the Preventers' lips gently and smiled. _He's so cute…_ thought Scott.

"I don't think we can be friends," Scott said. Aaron looked at him shocked then looked away to hide the hurt in his eyes. Scott gently grabbed Aarons' chin and brought it up to look at him.

"I don't think I'd be able to be your friend because…" Scott whispered as he leaned in closer, watching Aaron's partially parted lips, "because I think I…I think I really like you," he whispered. Aaron's eyes widened.

"But you just met me…"

"So?" Now Scotts' lips were only inches from Aarons'.

"I've never-" Aaron started.

"Me neither," Scott whispered as he closed the gap and kissed the other gently. Aarons' eyes fluttered shut seconds later as he kissed back shyly. Scott, encouraged by the return, put a hand on the back of Aaron's neck and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. He licked Aaron's bottom lip asking for entrance which the boy granted almost instantly by opening his mouth. As their tongues played, Scott caressed Aaron' cheek with one hand. Slowly, Scott pushed Aaron down onto the bed, lips still locked in a somewhat passionate and shy kiss. Aaron moaned quietly before Scott pulled back slightly and looked at the others' flushed face. Aaron's eyes fluttered open and he watched Scott shyly. Scott smiled before kissing him again softly. A second later, he pulled back again then laid his head on the other's shoulder, Aaron wrapped his arms around the scientist as he let out a happy sigh. Scott nuzzled the Preventers' neck before kissing it softly. Aaron giggled slightly. They laid there in silence and not long after both fell asleep in each others arms.

* * *

Quatre sighed. They had been looking through this one forest for hours and they still haven't **found** anything. Trowa ran a hand through his hair as Wufei growled in anger.

"Where are they?" he asked as he punched a tree.

"Maybe it was a fake base. Schwartz isn't dumb unfortunately." Quatre said. Wufei sighed but nodded.

"Well, lets head back we'll tell Une and continue looking…Trowa? What is it?" Quatre asked as he watched his lover walk away and to a clearing.

"A fake base is logical," he said before kneeling beside a large patch of dirt, "however, maybe, the base is underground." The other two Preventers looked at the silent teen.

"Oh great, how dumb can we get," Wufei said before chuckling lightly. Quatre smiled at his lover.

"Maybe if we didn't worry so much about Duo, our judgment would be clearer," Trowa said, standing. Quatre smiled brightly, and Wufei nodded.

"You're right, Duo's in more than capable hands. Now, lets storm a base," said Quatre excitedly as they searched for a way to get in with renewed vigor. After locating a way into the base, the three ex-gundam pilots returned to headquarters with information and pictures.

* * *

"Okay," Une said, starting the meeting. The three ex- pilots were there along with Lieutenant Parks and Captain Smith. "We have the location and we know it's underground, we know how to get in, what we don't know is their surveillance or whether Schwartz is even there."

"We could hack into their system." Lieutenant Parks suggested. Une nodded.

"We could but Heero's not going to want to leave Duo's side."

"Isn't there someone else here that's just as good?" Quatre asked. Une thought for a moment.

"Why can't one of you three do it?" asked Lieutenant Parks curiously.

"We don't want to risk detection. Besides that was always Duo's and Heero's specialty." Wufei said calmly. Une tapped her pen against the meeting table as she thought.

"Captain Smith," she said suddenly.

"Yes Commander?"

"Go and retrieve Private Aaron," the Captain nodded then made his way out of the room.

"Aaron?" Wufei asked. Une nodded.

"He's a smart kid so we had Heero teach him. It's always good to have more than one person who can hack into your own protection system." Everyone nodded in understanding. Minutes later the Captain returned with Aaron in tow.

"Um…" he looked around confused, "yes Commander?"

"Private Aaron. How well can you hack?" She asked. Aaron stood frozen for a few minutes before he coughed.

"Um… well um… I mean… I -"

"Private Aaron if there was anytime to brag, right now is that time, "said the Commander. Aaron nodded.

"Well …I'm good… not as good as Mr. Heero… but good enough." Une smiled.

"Are you good enough to not get caught?" asked Wufei. Aaron nodded.

"Good, you leave in two hours with them," she said as she pointed at the pilots. Aaron gaped at her.

"What?! I can't… I… but I'm …Commander you - ,"

"I know. I forbade you from going out on field missions, however drastic times call for drastic measures. You'll be safe." With that, Commander Une declared the meeting over and left immediately.

Aaron stood still gapping at the spot the Commander once stood in.

"Aaron," Quatre said as he gently put a hand on the younger teens shoulder. Aaron looked at him. "It's okay." Aaron nodded.

"Um…well I... guess I should get ready…" Aaron said.

"Right." Aaron walked out of the room.

"What's wrong hon?" Trowa asked softly as he wrapped his arms around his lovers' waist.

"He seemed scared… and I don't think it was just because it's his first time in the field," Quatre said, turning around in Trowa's arms, and putting his arms around Trowa's neck.

"Should I check-,"

"No, if Heero let Aaron help with the security system then I'm going trust him," Quatre said softly. Trowa smiled gently before kissing his lover.

"Okay. I'll trust him too," he said before Quatre smiled and pulled him down for another kiss.

* * *

Aaron stood in the room him and Scott shared staring out the window.

'_I don't want to go… what if something happens… what if… we get caught… uncle… how could you…' _He thought before he put his head in his hands.

"What's wrong?" Scott whispered as he wrapped his arms gently around Aarons' waist. Aaron jumped slightly. He didn't hear Scott come in… _was he done for the day_? Aaron shook his head as he leaned back against the taller man. Scott rested his chin on the others' shoulder and closed his eyes as he breathed in the scent of the other.

"Mmm… but talking makes people feel better yes?" he said quietly. Aaron looked down apprehensively.

"They want me to go with them," he said.

"Is that a bad thing?" Aaron shrugged.

"I don't know…I mean …I was never allowed to go in the field so I have no idea what to do…that and they want me to hack the system and I don't think I'm good enough," he replied sadly.

"Well, you'll be with three ex-gundam pilots and from what I overheard; it's the underground base so you'll be fine." Aaron signed. Scott looked at the teen, before turning him around and gently raising his chin up. He looked into bright blue eyes.

"Aaron, you designed the system here along with Mr. Yuy, they only use the best for that kind of thing." Aaron nodded still very anxious.

"Is that why you were kidnapped?" he asked curiously. Scott tensed slightly, eyebrows furrowed. Aaron looked at him guiltily.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up…" he said as he tried to back away from the scientist. Scott, tightened his arms around the other before dipping his head down to place his forehead against the others', eyes closed.

"Scott?" Aaron whispered. The scientist nodded.

"Yeah Aaron, that's why they kidnapped me." Aaron frowned and watching the others' face sadly before he gently brought his lips to meet the others' in a short, sweet kiss. Scott opened his eyes when Aaron pulled back, and smiled.

"You'll be great Aaron, don't worry. I have faith in you," he said returning the smile. Bright blue eyes lit up as the teens' smile grew.

"Thanks Scott," he said softly. Scott nodded, hugging the other tightly. He let go a few minutes later and gently kissed the Preventer on the lips. When he pulled back, he looked at the teen, his face only inches from the others'.

"I'll be here waiting for you," Scott whispered before he kissed him again slowly. Aaron smiled as he wrapped his arms around Scott's neck, deepening the kiss. Scott gently pulled Aaron's lower lip into his mouth sucking it before his tongue softly asked for entrance. With a soft moan, Aaron granted the other passage and their tongues playfully battled each other. Scott pulled the smaller man closer to him as Aaron moved one hand to caress one of Scotts' cheeks gently. Another moan was heard but neither knew who did it, nor did they care. When the need for air presented itself they pulled back, both panting. Scott watched as Aaron's eyes fluttered open, his face flushed and lips red. Aaron's eye caught sight of the green glowing alarm clock and saw that he had ten minutes to meet the ex-pilots.

"I'd better go," he said quietly as he leaned into Scott and laid his head on the others' chest. He felt Scott hug him gently, felt himself moving slightly with every breath Scott took, he breathed in Scott's scent, and heard the other's heartbeat. Scott would be here waiting for him…no one had ever told him that.

"Aaron?" Scott whispered as he gently took the other by the shoulders. He smiled when he looked into Aaron's smiling face before Aaron squeezed him in a hug.

"Bye Scott, I'll see you soon." Before Aaron left, he turned back, bag in hand and smiled lovingly at the scientist.

"I know it hasn't been very long, hell it hasn't even been a week, but…I really feel like…like we've connected…and I um…I love you." Scott felt his eyes widen, shocked at what the younger of the two said, before smiling.

"Me too Aaron…I love you too." With that, Aaron left the room with a silly grin on his face and a slight bounce in his step. He didn't care if it was cheesy…someone loved him! That too was a first for him. Aaron laughed to himself. _'Now I can face Uncle…asshole I hope you're ready to go to jail…although you deserve more for hurting my friends, my boyfriend, and harming and killing children.'_ Aaron thought as he walked into the lobby of the Preventers Headquarters. He smiled and walked over to Quatre and the others, finally ready to go on his first field mission.

* * *

"Schwartz, this is the last time you will fail me, right?" someone bitterly said. Schwartz nodded then spoke.

"Yes sir, I apologize immensely for the other small mistakes-,"

"Small?" 'Sir' yelled before clearing his throat and reverting back to his normal tone of voice.

"First you fail to get the first Preventer terminated before he got some information, then you lose our last test subjects, you failed to kill the man who invented the damned antidote, and you failed to kill the Preventer who infiltrated **your** base when you _knew _he would **be there! **I don't consider those small Schwartz." Schwartz bowed deeply before he stood up straight.

"Sir, please I had no idea where he was going and when; I had no access to that information," Schwartz replied, quietly seething. The other sighed.

"Schwartz, one more chance, that is all." With that, Schwartz was waved away, and he walked out of the office. Once outside he let out a growl.

"Damned Preventers…always getting in the way. At least one of them is taken care of," he said to himself as he walked down a hall in an underground base.

"Hmm…that scientist will have to be taken care of…he's probably already started the antidote. He can't finish it," he said as he walked into a room where a few of the soldiers were. Then a manic grin appeared on his face.

"You three, you're part of the assassin team?" he asked. Three guys looked up from their no so friendly game of Poker. One of them had a scar above hi right eyebrow, he answered.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"I need you to take care of a certain pest."

"We only take orders from-,"

"He'll want this done I can assure you. If he complains, I'll take full responsibility. Now this is the man. He's with the Preventers so you'll have to tread lightly." The three looked at the picture before the man with the scar, who appeared to be the leader, took it.

"Very well…It shall be done. Good day, sir." With that, the three got up and walked out of the room. Schwartz smiled,_ 'Finally, things are looking up'_ he thought as he left the room and walked down the hall laughing.

* * *

A/N: …………………yeah…… I know how long its been……..SORRY!!!! I've been soo busy and stressed that I haven't had time. Orchestra was like hell for the first semester…we had a new director…and he was incompetent...and he pissed e off so he won't be back and now we have another new director. Lol SOO much fun. Anyway I REALLY sorry. I'll try and get the next one up as soon as possible…but…AP testing is coming up so….yeah.

I LOVE ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN PATIENT WITH ME!! THANK YOU!!!!

unknownangel

ps. Reviews make writers happy:)


	6. Chapter 6: Surprising? I Think Not

**Does It Matter?**

unknownangel

A/N: I'M SORRY!!! I know it's been over a year but I've been soo busy! But that's no excuse!! You deserve another chapter! Lol Hopefully writer's block stays FAR away this time. I had no inspiration at all over the year but now…maybe I've got my spark back! Let's hope.

* * *

Chapter 6: Surprising? I Think Not.

The quiet hum of the shuttle engine was the only sound Aaron heard as he leaned back in his seat, staring out the window at the clouds below him. Sighing, he closed his brown eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose when he felt the formation of a headache. _'Me too Aaron…I love you too.'_ Aaron's eyes shot open, a light tinge of pink dusted over his cheeks and a smile graced his lips. Scott…he'd only known him for two days but…there was something about him that drew Aaron to the scientist.

Aaron gently put two fingers to his lips; remembering the kisses Scott and he shared. Every time they kissed…Aaron felt complete…he felt that nothing could go wrong…as cliché as that is…Aaron couldn't figure out anything else to say about it. His blush deepened when he remembered the 'lab incident' as he called it. Groaning, he put his head in his hands. He had been so pathetic…he felt stupid about it afterward but he had honestly wanted Scott's opinion of him to be good. Aaron had gone through so much and meeting Duo really helped him. He had thought about the conversation they had and he realized that Duo didn't care about what others thought about him, he only cared about what the people he deeply cared for thought. Then he met Scott and he automatically knew that Scott was extremely important to him. Aaron didn't want to call it 'love at first sight' but…honestly and truly…he didn't know what else it could have been.

A warm and comforting weight on his shoulder pulled Aaron from his thoughts. Looking up, he came face to face with Quatre's friendly, smiling face and warm eyes.

"You doing okay Aaron?"

Returning the smile, Aaron replied, "Yeah…I guess I am." The ex-pilot nodded, acknowledging the response as he sat down next to the younger Preventer.

"This is your first field mission right?" A shy nod was his only answer.

"It's okay Aaron, you don't have to worry about a thing. We'll protect you." Even with Quatre's reassurances, Aaron still felt nervous about it, what if something went wrong?

"We are under strict orders to retreat if anything goes wrong," Quatre said as if he knew what Aaron was thinking, "and you, are our top priority." The young Preventer's eyes widened at Quatre's smiling face and the honesty that shined brightly in the other's blue eyes.

"Thank you," came the whispered reply. The blonde chuckled softly.

"Well, we can't just leave you, Scott would be very sad if we did." Quatre said then laughed at Aaron's shocked face.

"How did you…" Quatre smiled widely then winked at him and Aaron realized he'd been tricked.

"Don't worry. No one else suspects anything okay." Quatre stood after Aaron breathed a sigh of relief, amusement still clear in his eyes. _'How did he know though?'_ thought Aaron.

"We'll be landing soon so get ready," he said gently before he walked back to Trowa.

"How was he?" said a soft, deep voice as strong arms wrapped themselves around Quatre's lean waist. The blonde leaned into the embrace and smiled up at the green-eyed man.

"A bit confused about his love life and slightly nervous about the mission but, I think he'll be just fine," chuckled Quatre. His lover nodded then leaned down and gently kissed the other. They then felt the shuttle slow slightly and pulled apart.

"Looks like we're here." Quatre nodded, then grabbed his Preventer jacket and helped Trowa get things ready to go. Wufei landed the plane on a remote airstrip then walked back to the others. He looked at Aaron, who stood with his laptop clutched tightly to his chest then to his fellow ex-pilots before nodding. They all exited the plane and got into a waiting jeep and started the drive through the forest to the patch of dirt.

* * *

Heero slouched low in his chair, his legs stretched out in front of him one elbow rested on the armrest and his head was cradled in his hand and the other held a remote control pointed at the small tv across the room. This was very uncharacteristic of the Perfect Solider he knew that very well it's just that he was so damn bored! There was nothing for him to do. If he went to headquarters he knew he could demand work but, there's a possibility that the Blue Dragons would send an assassin after Duo, so he couldn't leave. He's tried getting Une to bring him his laptop but she just smiles, says he needs a vacation and leaves laughing.

"Damn it," he whispered angrily as he turned off the TV. He had been flipping through the channels for the past two hours. He looked at Duo's calm face then sighed. Heero wanted nothing more than for Duo to open his eyes, smile his bright smile, and be okay. He wanted Duo to just start talking about anything and everything…he wanted to hear Duo's beautiful voice.

"Damn it Duo," Heero growled as he glared at the longhaired man before he stood up and stretched. A light knock on the door told Heero it was Scott, because no one else knocked. So Heero relaxed when the door opened and Scott walked through. He nodded slightly in greeting as he walked to Duo's bed.

"How is he?"

"Still sleeping…sometimes he has nightmares but nothing too bad," Heero replied as he gently brushed Duo's cheek with his fingers. Scott nodded, frowning.

"How's the antidote coming?" The scientist Sighed then looked at Heero with hard eyes. The Perfect Solider steeled himself for what was coming, knowing it wasn't good.

"There is one ingredient that needs to be measured but in order to get the right amount; I need to know how fur the pain has progressed." Heero stiffened, his eyes darting to Duo's still form. No…

"I know what you're thinking and I understand completely but in order for the antidote to actually work I need to know." Heero nodded, he knew that but… as much as he wanted to hear Duo's voice… he wasn't so eager to hear his pain-filled screams.

"I waited until everyone left so that they wouldn't see it, I know y or don't want him to hurt but-"

"I know..."

"If you don't want to be here you don't have to be… I understand and I'm sure Duo would too." The ex-Wing pilot shook his head.

"I'm staying," he said sternly. Scott nodded grimly.

"I have the sedative with me so after I determine the level of pain, I'll administer it okay?" Heero nodded, the nurse was to come in five minutes to give Duo another dose, but Heero assumed that Scott told the medical staff so he wouldn't expect her to come. Time seemed to go by at a horribly sluggish pace as they waited for Duo to wake. During the wait, Scott removed the IV so Duo wouldn't rip it out again.

"I'm going to need you to hold him still so I can sedate him, it might be easier if you restrict his movements when he wakes up." Another nod then Heero stood and gently moved Duo into a sitting position. He slid behind him and held Duo close, back to chest. Heero's strong arms wrapped around Duo's torso, keeping the ex-Deathscythe pilots' arms secured and gently placed his chin on Duo's shoulder. He felt Duo's soft skin against his cheek and the slow rhythmic breathing. He sat like that for only a few seconds before he felt Duo twitch. Not a second after he looked up did Duo start screaming and thrashing around. Heero held him tightly and whispered softly in his ear telling him everything was okay, and Heero was there. Tears flowed quickly down Duo's pain-filled face as he screamed and struggled against the pain. Scott wrote something down in a small notebook, put it away then took out the syringe with the sedative. He nodded to Heero then grasped one of Duo's arms tightly but gently and administered the drug. Seconds later, Duo fell limp against Heero, breathing evenly now. Scott watched Heero who still held the other to him gently, his forehead on the unconscious man's shoulder. Guilt and sadness washed over the scientist as he saw the strongest pilot break in front of him. He gently put a hand on Heero's shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly.

"I'm going to go continue with the antidote. Now that I know how much pain he's in it'll go much faster now. I'm so sorry," he whispered as he hooked Duo back up to the IV. After he finished he quietly walked out of the room and shut the door just as softly. Duo's screams had to have been extremely loud…everyone at the small Preventers' hospital was looking at the scientist, some of the nurses appeared to be crying and doctors looked solemn. Scott sighed.

"Not much longer now, um…please wait until Special Agent Yuy calls for a nurse to go in and don't allow visitors until then as well," he said before walking away with heavy steps. Heero heard Scott through the door and silently thanked him. He lifted his head, eyes filled with pain and regret and rested his chin on Duo's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry Duo… I should've stopped you…damn it…no I should've been there to help you…" he whispered.

* * *

"What do you mean I can't go in? I'm in charge!" Une yelled at the cowering nurse. The younger woman stuttered over an explanation but was interrupted.

"Commander," Scott said as he walked up to her. She turned to glare at him but when she saw how tired he and sluggish he looked her gaze softened. "I told them not to allow visitors, but I can explain on the way to the lab." The brown-haired woman nodded then followed him.

"Duo woke up," he started, Une looked at him alarmed, "I needed to know how much pain he was in to better measure on ingredient. I'm almost finished but…" Une's heart dropped.

"But what?" she whispered as they walked into the lab. Scott looked dully at her as he sat down at one of the tables.

"But the drug seems to be affecting Duo differently."

"How so?"

"He's sleeping peacefully for one thing. None of the kids that were sedated **ever** slept peacefully. The nightmares were always bad, some were so bad that some kids would sleepwalk, acting out their dreams, some even killed themselves." Une stared at the scientist in horror. The man looked at her with so much guilt and seriousness that Une knew right then that they needed to get rid of the threat as soon as possible. If that drug was released out to the public there would be chaos, then peace would be nonexistent.

Une composed herself then in a tone reminiscent of her old OZ days asked, "How much longer for the antidote?"

"Three days. I already mixed in the second to last ingredient and it has to sit for 36 hours before I can add the last one." The commander nodded then headed for the door.

"Thank you, Dr. Harrison for all your hard work. Private Aaron will be returning this afternoon, the mission went well, there were no problems." She said before she left the scientist on his own.

* * *

"Aaron!" Shrieks all five kids happily as they ran up to the 18-year-old and hugged him around the legs. The younger laughed as he set the stuff down and knelt down to hug the kids. Quatre smiled warmly before he picked up the laptop bag.

"We'll take care of the rest of the Aaron. You did good, now go get some rest." Aaron smiled widely at the blonde ex-pilot as he nodded his thanks before the three pilots walked away and followed grim faced Une.

"Welcome back." said a voice quietly. Aaron stood and looked up to see Scott standing a little ways away, leaning on the wall. The scientist was smiling gently, but Aaron could see how exhausted he was.

"Let's go guys," Aaron said to the kids, "we'll go eat out today, my treat." Screams of joy erupted from the children as they ran toward the door. Aaron walked to Scott and smiled when the scientist wrapped his arms around the Preventer and hugged him tightly, his head on his shoulder.

"I missed you," Scott whispered into his neck, "the nightmares I had… God, I thought something had gone wrong when no one said anything for that whole week." Aaron hugged the other back.

"I missed you too. Believe me, I want to talk to you, but…" Scott shook his head.

"I understand."

"Come on, Aaron!" They heard Jake yell impatiently. Scott chuckled quietly, then pulled back to look at Aaron.

"They missed you too, a lot. They terrorized the Preventers that work in the offices daily." Aaron laughed.

"I'm not surprised." Scott glanced at the doorway, making sure the kids were watching before he gently kissed him on the lips. The Preventer's eyes closed as he kissed the scientist back. A short and sweet kiss that told them how much they miss each other. Scott pulled back, smiling, then cupped Aaron's cheek with his hand gently before they both walked off through the doorway.

* * *

"Okay, so how do we get in?" Une asked, her anger growing by the second. The three ex-pilots serious faces all looked directly at their boss.

"We don't." Quatre replied grimly. "Unless we do a full on attack, we won't get inside the base."

"I see. Well, we need to think of something because that is not an option."

"Commander, it might eventually come to that though," Quatre said in a business type tone, "If that drug gets into the hands of the public, then the entire operation is at risk. The people will demand the Preventers to do something at that point, unless they see something being done with their own eyes, they won't believe we're doing what we can." Une stared at Quatre, Wufei and Trowa for a few minutes before she sighed and turned her chair to look out the massive windows behind her act the city below. Tense silence filled the room as each person thought of the situation. Every solution they could think of had risks that could not be taken to ensure the safety of the people in the integrity of the Preventers. The pilots weren't ones for politics, Quatre being exception, but they already had enough hate for them, they didn't need more-that could cause serious issues.

"I don't know what to do," Une said, her voice held defeat and slight anger. Wufei clenched his fists tightly, till his knuckles turned white.

"Quit acting like we're helpless civilians!" yelled the Chinese man.

"Wufei," Trowa started, "there isn't much we can do. Right now, our only option is to continue video surveillance until something else presents itself." Quatre nodded.

"Trowa's right. We must be patient and calm," He said, glancing at Wufei before turning to Une, "We'll continue to watch the base; hopefully something of some use will appear." Une nodded her acknowledgement.

"Make sure you contact me if anything comes up." The three nodded, before they started toward the door when Quatre stopped. Une watched him curiously, as his eyes turned sad.

"How's Duo?" Une folded her hands together then leaned forward and placed her elbows on the desk.

"He's in a lot of pain. According to Dr. Harrison, the drug seems to affect adults differently, but he's almost done with the antidote and he'll figure out what's different when Duo's okay." The blond nodded showing he understood.

"What about Heero?" He asked quietly. Une paused for a second.

"He's taking it really hard," came her soft replied, "he hasn't left duo's room since Duo got there. He takes showers only when Scott or I are in there with Duo for longer than five minutes. He's bored out of his mind and he blames himself for everything." She said, looking over each of the Preventers. Quatre was depressed, Trowa looked sad, but it was hard to tell, and Wufei looked guilty and sad. Une smiled sadly at them.

"Go see Heero, and continue surveillance, okay?" The three nodded before they left, without saluting. Une smiled. That was one thing that hasn't changed at all with any of them. They don't acknowledge rank, only skill, and they don't care who you are, they will never salute anyone. Chuckling softly she turned to look at the city again. 'No, they're far above us.'

* * *

"I want this candy!" Brian and Kyle-the twins-said in unison as they held two different chocolate bars up to Scott. Scott laughed then took the candy and held onto it for them. They went to lunch and after that stopped by a convenience store on the way back to headquarters. Jake was staring at a shelf filled with sweets, trying to decide which one to get as Karen helped Chloe pick out a chocolate bar and the twins were hanging off the of Aaron's arms laughing.

"Okay guys," this darted Aaron, "go get Jake, Karen, and Chloe, we've got to get back." The boys mock saluted, each with a serious face before they burst out in giggles then ran to the others.

"Scott," Aaron said as he walked to the scientist who turned and smiled at him, "we need to go." Scott nodded as Aaron stopped next to him. Then there was a loud 'pop' and glass shattered. The kids screamed and huddled around Jake who was staring wide-eyed at the two adults.

"Are you all right?" yelled the store clerk as he ran toward the only customers in the store. Scott couldn't talk, his shock overwhelmed him immensely. He held Aaron to him and slowly lowered to the ground. The young Preventer coughed violently, blood trickling from his mouth, but he was breathing.

"I need a clean towel immediately." It took a second for the clerk to realize Scott was talking to him before he quickly ran to get one.

"Hold on Aaron," Scott whispered shakily as he gently brushed the other's cheek, before pulling out his phone and speed dialing a number.

"It's Scott, send an ambulance immediately to the convenience store on 5th and 23rd," he paused, "hurry okay… just hurry." As he hung up the phone, the clerk came back and handed a towel to him and Scott immediately put it over the wound on Aaron's chest. He gently wiped the blood from Aaron's mouth, and the young Preventers ragged breathing told Scott his right lung had been punctured. The 18-year-old eyes were half-closed and dazed; bordering on unconsciousness. Scott applied pressure to the towel with one hand and with the other, he shakily placed it on Aaron's cheek and bent over him so that his eyes were looking right into the Preventers.

"You'll be okay, Aaron. Hold on, okay? Please," the scientist whispered, his voice shaking slightly. He faintly heard the sound of an ambulance but didn't actually register it's arrival until he was pushed away from Aaron.

Commander Une, six Preventers and Wufei stepped into the convenience store just as Aaron was wheeled out. Two Preventers immediately went to the store clerk to question him and look at the scene. They saw the kids first, all crying and hugging Jake. Une smiled sadly as she watched the 12-year-old boy try hard to be strong for the others. She nodded to two other Preventers who immediately went to the kids and led them away. Jake hesitated, looking back at Scott, before he followed. The scientist was standing near the spot where Aaron was only moments before, his left hand dripping blood.

"It was supposed to be me," he said when Une laid a hand gently on his shoulder, his voice emotionless, "it was supposed to be me but… but I moved and he moved and…" he stared at his red hand.

"Hey!" Wufei said forcefully, causing the distraught scientist to look at him. "You are needed for the antidote, but it's also Aaron's job. Now that there are assassins after you, you have to stay with someone at all times."

"Let's go back."

* * *

"Ah! Man!" Yelled Chris Matthews as he hid behind a stack of crates, a sniper rifle clutched in his hands, "stupid shiny thing!" He looked around before getting up and running off toward the stairs. He skirted past Preventers for a few miles before coming across a car and getting in.

"Well?" Said a man with long, light brown hair.

"Now, Kaori-chan don't be mad, but this shiny thing popped up outta nowhere and-"

"And you missed him." He said deadpanned. The blond man froze before he smiled sheepishly.

"Ah…yeah? But, I got a Preventer!" the other man frowned before shaking his head and pulling out a cell phone, he dialed a number then started the car.

"He missed the target. Yes. He shot a Preventer. Okay. Bye." The delicate-looking man glared at the blonde before he turned back to the road.

"He's going to take care of it now." The blond groaned, slouched in the seat and pouted.

* * *

Heero was slightly shocked when the doctors wheeled Aaron into the room.

"Commander Une thought it would be best-" Heero cut him off with a nod. The Dr. in a few nurses set everything up quickly and left. Not long after Wufei and Scott entered the room. The scientist went immediately to the fallen Preventer while Wufei stood opposite Heero on the other side of Duo's bed.

"Aaron was shot. There are assassins after the scientist. Une has ordered that he go nowhere without one of us pilots. Earlier he told me that he needed to finish the antidote at 1800 hours so I'll be back to get Him at 1730." Wufei said stoically then walked out after a curt nod from the messy haired pilot. The Preventer glanced at the clock and noted the time, he needed to protect Scott for three hours. The two sat in silence for two hours, the only noise was the beep of the heart monitors. Then a small sound reached Heero's ears and he immediately turned the door. He saw the handle move slowly down before it opened without a sound. Almost instantly Heero jumped over Duo's bed, startling Scott and had his gun pointed right at a man's head. The ex-pilots death glare firmly trained on a man.

* * *

Wufei stared out at the city from the roof of the Preventers Headquarters thinking about everything that has occurred in the past couple weeks. For the first time since seeing Duo again he actually had the chance to think about the way he treated Duo and the reasons why. If you were to be truly honest with himself, he could admit that he didn't actually know his reasons for being mean to Duo. The Chinese man sighed before turning to the door to the roof just as Trowa walked through.

"You know, there's no point in beating yourself up, Wufei," Trowa said as he stopped a few feet away, "you have no idea that any of this was going to happen."

"I still had no right," Wufei said, looking to the ground. Guilt was not an emotion he was accustomed to and didn't know exactly how to deal with it. Trowa nodded in understanding.

"Duo will be okay, when he wakes you can apologize." The Chinese man nodded, still slightly unsure.

"Une has requested our presence in her office in 15 minutes." Trowa said before turning and leaving the room. Wufei turned back and stared up at the clouds. If he really thought about it, he would probably peg his hatred for Duo on jealousy. Duo could show his emotions and still have the cold-heartedness needed to be Shinigami whereas Wufei found it hard to show both sides. During the war, anyone who showed emotion he considered to be weak and pathetic that was why he'd disliked Duo at that time. Apparently, he never grew out of that. Over time, and as he got to know duo more, his jealousy grew and turned into extreme anger and Duo just became a liability and an annoyance to him.

Wufei groaned, he really was an idiot sometimes. Duo was a great person, and even though he always yelled at him, always told him to shut up, called him annoying all the time; Duo never lost that smile, but when he returned, Wufei realized just how much of an effect he had on the happy-go-lucky person he thought he knew during war. Duo was a very good actor, that much was obvious. The ex-pilot nodded to himself before turning toward the door to the roof, it was settled as soon as Duo woke up and he had the chance, he would apologize and ask for forgiveness. And with that Wufei walked through the door and headed to the Commanders office.

* * *

A/N: Well I hope you liked it. I already have the seventh chapter halfway written and I'm hoping that I'll get it typed up and uploaded before the end of August so cross your fingers! Tell me what you think about this chapter, and if you have any ideas Or any suggestions on what you think should happen next, feel free to review and tell me. If I like what you suggest I might just use it later on in the story. I'm expecting this fiction to be about 10 chapters maybe 12 not all that sure yet, okay?

Thank you for reading and again sorry for taking so long.

unknownangel


	7. Chapter 7: Finally

**Does It Matter?**

unknownangel

A/N: Here's Chapter 7!

Enjoy!

**Chapter 7: **

"Okay, when he comes back, we'll start the operation. Everyone knows what they're doing right?" Jake asked looking at the others in the huddle. The twins grinned widely, Karen nodded and Chloe giggled happily. Jake smirked then nodded and everyone went to put their plan in action. They were being watched by a Preventer who wouldn't let them visit Aaron so their only option was to escape. So, they came with a plan that would allow Jake to go see Aaron.

When the door opened, the kids immediately turned to look at the Preventer. The man froze as he watched all the kids glare at him. He took slow steps in and the kids also started moving forward. Then before he could react the kids ran at him giving war cries and tackling the man. While the children continued to attack the pathetic man, Jake slipped quietly through the door and took off down the hall toward where the hospital wing was located; leaving behind the twins laughing manically and a terrified Preventer.

* * *

Une pinched the bridge of her nose, closed her eyes, and then sighed. There were five chairs in front of her desk, four held four of the five children and on the fifth sat the pouting Preventer, bruised and covered with bite marks. Each child's face showed a smug grin.

"Okay…where is Jake?" she asked tiredly. Chloe giggled loudly but placed her hands on her mouth, Karen smiled and the twins smirked then growled toward the Preventer who flinched, making them laugh. Une rolled her eyes, when a solid knock came at the door.

"Enter." Wufei, Quatre and Trowa walked into the room, the door closing behind them. The twins jumped out of their seats and ran to Quatre and Trowa and Karen walked to Wufei and hugged his legs. Chloe stayed where she was preoccupied with her hair.

"Anything?" Wufei shook his head slowly. Une nodded.

"Where's Jake?" Quatre asked curiously. Une glared at the bruised and still silent Preventer before answering.

"Mostly likely in the hospital; probably going to see Aaron and Duo. "

"Most likely?" questioned Quatre.

"He 'escaped'. The kids attacked their guard and Jake escaped." She explained impassively. Wufei glanced at his watch.

"We'll take the kids to go see them. I have to get Scott I thirty minutes anyway." The Commander nodded then turned to the still sulking Preventer.

"You, go back to your station." The man stood, saluted then sulked out of the room. Quatre smiled at the giggling kids then nodded to Une and walked out.

Une sighed as everyone left her office. The past couple weeks have been hectic and weird and she couldn't recall a time where she felt so helpless she thought before she smiled gently. 'Those kids would make a great team…they get along very well.'

* * *

Scott glared at the intruder who had his hands in the air and Heero's gun pointed right at his scarred face. The man was expressionless as he slowly looked from Heero's cold, hard eyes to Scott, then Aaron, then Duo. His eyes widened slightly but stayed on Duo's still form. The ex-Wing pilot growled and took a step to the side effectively blocking Duo's face from view. The intruder's eyes shot up to Heero's when he moved. The room remained silent for a few more minutes with the exception of the beeping monitors.

"I know you," Scott said, "You're part of the assassin team." The man smiled lazily and gave a small nod acknowledging the scientists statement.

"Right you are Mr. Scientist," the intruder said, his voice deep with a hint of laughter. Heero's glare hardened as he cocked the gun to gain the assassin's attention.

"Whoa now buddy, you got me, I won't try anything." The ex-pilot froze, he sounded like Duo…he glanced at the clock as the thought crossed his mind but then firmly trained back on the stranger.

"Give him the sedative," Heero said emotionlessly. The killer for hire gave the solider a confused look but Scott knew what the younger man was talking about. He quickly took out a syringe and administered the drug through Duo's IV. The scarred man's face lost the carefree smile and his eyes were hard.

" He was given that drug?" he questioned, voice void of emotion.

"I don't think that's any of your business," Scott said. Meanwhile, Heero was wondering why he hadn't shot the assassin yet…was he getting soft?

"I think it is. You, Preventer, is that Duo Maxwell? The Gundam Pilot?" Heero's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Why?"

"The kid saved my life during the war, I owe him a lot. If that's Duo Maxwell, I won't kill the scientist." A second later the door was thrown open and Jake ran through.

"I wanna see Aaron!" he yelled happily then froze, stared at the scene in front of him with wide eyes as the door clicked shut behind him.

"Jake? Jake is that you?" said the assassin as he looked at the young boy. The kid nodded, his mouth hanging open in shock.

"Jake get away-"

"Brian!" Jake yelled as he launched himself at the man. Scott stood shocked and as far as Heero was concerned, this assassin was just an idiot much like…like Duo…damn.

"Dude, you can put the gun down, I'm not here to kill anyone. Not anymore."

"How do I know that?" Heero said deadpanned, gun still aimed at the strangers head.

"I just told you I owe Duo and I always keep my word and the kid here is my younger brother." Heero lowered the gun confused.

"What?" Scott said also confused.

"Brian! I thought I'd never see you again!" The two hugged each other tightly before Brian let Jake go and sat in a chair taking out his cell phone and pressing a button before putting it to his ear.

"Chris you know Kaori hates it when you answer his phone…right anyway we're ditching the job. No you idiot, a bunch of complications have shown up…look I'm calling it off. You get your ass here now and bring Kaori! Damn it Chris stop whining!" he snapped the phone shut just before the door opened and the other three pilots and the rest of the kids walked through. Everyone froze when they saw Brian, Jake hugging Brian, Heero with his gun out and looking a tad bit confused, and Scott scratching his head and looking openly confused. And once again the door clicked shut but a second later it was kicked in and a man bounced in happily followed by another man who just glared at the blonde man bouncing around the room.

Quatre blinked. The room was filled with a very tense and extremely awkward silence.

"Okay, I'm confused," Scott said sitting down in a chair and looking at everyone.

* * *

The room was filled with an awkward heaviness. The gundam pilots and Scott all sat between the two hospital beds that held their fallen comrades and the assassins for hire sat on the other side of the room. The children were playing quietly in a corner of the room with the exception of Jake who as sitting with his older brother and Chloe who sat comfortably on Heero's lap.

"Ok so you are Jake's older brother Brian?" Quatre asked as he tried to get the situation understood. The man with the scarred face and spiky brown hair – Jake was currently trying to see if it would cut paper – nodded lazily.

"And you two," Scott said gesturing to the other two men sitting on either side of Brian, "Are his friends Kaori and Chris." The man with the long brown hair nodded emotionlessly.

"Yes sir!" Yelled Chris and was promptly smacked in the head by Kaori.

"Don't yell in a hospital idiot." Brian rolled his eyes.

"Anyway so how did Duo end up in here?" Brian asked. The room fell silent after his question. Scott looked at the clock then back at Aaron. He brushed Aaron's hair out of his eyes before standing.

"Preventer Wufei I must go finish the antidote." The Chinese man nodded and stood as Scott glanced back at Aaron for a quick second before walking toward the door.

"Come on kids, it's time for dinner," Scott said as Heero gently handed Chloe over to the scientist. The children started to groan before Scott added, "You guys can come back after dinner, come on." Brian frowned as the two men and the children walked out of the room before looking back at the Preventers. They were silent until Heero spoke up.

"Schwartz gave him the drug." That was all Heero said before he turned his back to everyone and watched Duo sleep.

"This was when he rescued Jake wasn't it?" Brian asked as he stood up. Quatre nodded solemnly before grabbing Trowa's hand in his.

"Well I guess I owe Duo more," Brian chuckled quietly, "So seeing as how I was only with the Blue Dragons because I couldn't find Jake, I have no reason to stay with them. We'll help you." Quatre looked up at the scarred man surprised.

"You're willing to help us?" he asked hopefully. Brian nodded and looked at his teammates. Chris wasn't paying attention but Kaori had a skeptical look on his face.

"Brian do you really think we should?" he asked cautiously, "As soon as leader catches wind of this he'll send the other squad after all of us, and they aren't fun to deal with."

"Yeah, but I can't work for that man knowing my friend and my brother are going to be in danger and I'm supposed to be the danger." Brian responded.

"Wait," Quatre said as he stood, "if you give me a few hours to come up with a plan, we might be able to beat them from the inside."

Kaori nodded at the suggestion. "I shall help you," he said as he stood as well. Trowa and Brian looked at each other then at Quatre and Kaori respectively.

'Heero, we're going to go see if we can come up with a plan ok? We'll send a nurse to get you dinner." Quatre said in a business-like tone before he walked out the door followed by Kaori and Trowa.

"Chris you stay here and behave please," Brian said demandingly before looking at Heero.

"You have every right to shoot him if he starts irritating you." And with that Brian walked out the door and followed the other three down the hall. Heero glanced back at Chris who looked back at him with wide eyes.

"Uh…heh hi?" he said as he waved sheepishly.

"Hn."

* * *

"What the hell!" Une screamed.

"Commander if we work together then we can take the organization out from the inside and not have to worry about turning this into a public affair." Quatre explained. Une sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation.

"You guys do realize what you're asking right? You want me to grant three known assassins asylum and pardon them from all illegal activities they have done while under the employ of the very organization we are trying to bring down."

"Commander we know what we're asking for but in order to please all parties we need to think about the lesser evil here," Trowa said.

"Commander Une we know what position this puts you in but we aren't asking for a pardon from everything. We can take responsibility for the things we've done but Brian hasn't seen his brother in years and to take him away from Jake again after all these years would be cruel. All we ask for is a lesser punishment." Kaori said trying to reason with the leader of the Preventers. Une sighed.

"I'll see what I can do. I can't promise anything right now, but if you help us I can at the very least put in a good word for you to the review boards ok?"

"Thank you very much Commander, we understand." Kaori bowed respectively. The Commander nodded then waved them out of the room.

"Go start on a plan. There will be a briefing at eight tomorrow morning to discuss everything, understood?" The four men nodded then left the room.

* * *

The lab was quiet while the scientist worked diligently to finish the antidote for Duo. While he worked, he thought about why the drug was affecting Duo differently from how it affected the children.

"Preventer Wufei I have a request," Scott called as he turned to the other with a thoughtful expression. The Chinese man nodded.

"Could you look through any files you have from the Blue Dragons database for anything referring to the drug? I have a feeling I might know why this drug affects Duo differently but I want to make sure." Scott asked quickly as he poured the antidote into a vial and capped it off. Wufei nodded and turned to leave but stopped.

"Is the antidote ready?" he asked softly.

"Yes it is."

"How long will it take for Duo to be ok?" Scott tilted his head in confusion before he smiled gently.

"Well Wufei," he said as he gently laid his hand on the Preventers shoulder, "he should be back to normal within a couple of days if not sooner. From what I've heard about Duo Maxwell, it seems like he'll bounce back within the first day." Wufei nodded slowly, a small smile forming as he led the scientist out of the room.

"I'll drop you off with Heero then go look for any files on the drug."

"Thank you."

* * *

The room was filled with many people. It was obvious that someone passed on the fact that the antidote was finished which had attracted the chief of medicine of the hospital and the best doctors, including Sally Po; Commander Une was there as well, along with the ex-Gundam pilots minus Wufei, the assassins, and all of the children. Scott smiled gently when he saw all those people looking at him expectantly. He walked over to Heero who sat next to Duo's bed appearing calm but Scott had a feeling that he was anxious and happy on the inside.

"Ok everyone, the antidote is finished as you know. He'll have to be sedated one more time in order to give the antidote time to help him. When he does wake up he might not remember what happened before he got here so don't be surprised. I'll watch him tonight and make sure he'll be okay after I give it to him." Scott said to the group of waiting people. He then turned to Duo's IV, took out the vial and filled a shot with the antidote then injected it into the IV.

"Alright everyone, he should be awake in the morning." The children cheered happily from the corner of the room as Quatre hugged Trowa tightly.

"Thank you Dr. Harrison for all your hard work. Now, I believe it's time for the children to get some rest and the rest of you have things to do before tomorrow, I'm changing the time of the meeting to noon." Une said after the doctors left the room and before she walked out the door.

"Alright come on kids lets get you guys to bed," Brian said as he started to walk out the door with Jake hanging on his arm. They all left along with the other ex-Gundam pilots leaving Heero and Scott in the room with Aaron and Duo. The rhythmic beeping of both heart monitors were the only sound in the room for along time.

Scott held Aaron's hand gently hoping the young man would wake up soon. He has been out for a long time and Scott was starting to get worried about him. A small knock on the door sounded before it opened and Chris walked through the door.

"Hey," the young man said softly which seemed uncharacteristic of him from what the two conscious men in the room knew, "I wanted to apologize to you for shooting him…I was only following orders." Scott nodded understandingly as he looked back at Aaron. "If there's anything I can do to make it up to you please…I'll do anything…"

"Chris, it's okay. I know why you did it and I know I'm not mad at you for follow your orders... I also know Aaron won't be angry with you either. But if you're adamant about making it up to us then the only thing I'm asking you for is to help take the Blue Dragons down." Chris smiled widely at Scott and hugged him tightly.

"Will do man," and with that Chris bounced out of the room letting the door shut softly behind him and leaving the room silent once more.

* * *

A/N: Okay I know this isn't as long as the others but I feel bad that it's taking so long to update so I'll give you what I have so far and I hope to have chapter 8 up by thanksgiving. So sorry again for taking so long.


	8. Chapter 8: Finding Duo

**Does it Matter?**

Alrighty…so it's been about a year…I apologize immensely. Plot bunnies are not as kind to me as I would like them to be. Anyway, for those that actually read the author's note before the story, this chapter is going to be a bit weird. I apologize now for any confusion this chapter may cause.

As I re-read the whole story trying to figure out where I was originally planning to go with it and after re-reading some reviews for ideas, I realized that although this story is about Duo, he doesn't have a very strong part in the most recent chapters. I think I've probably lost my mind haha. I refuse to make excuses so instead I tried to dedicate this entire chapter (as much as I possibly could) to the lovable Deathscythe pilot. Most of this chapter, if not all of it, will be set in Duo's point of view, and will encompass key moments that involved Duo since he's been an invalid.

I hope this clears a few things up and any thoughts on future chapters are welcome. I have since remembered what I had planned to do with this story but any other ideas might add more substance.

Oh! And I noticed that as the chapters go on that I have not been as…emotional? Detailed? I apologize for that as well, I was trying to get them uploaded to you guys as quickly as I possibly could but failed to edit thoroughly, so I have gone through and done a thorough edit and changed a few things, nothing major, and nothing that would affect the story too much at all. I will change the current chapters with the new versions soon (I hope) so if you would like to read them go for it.

Now enough of my rambling and on with the story!

P.S Don't own, don't sue

* * *

Key:

Normal : Story

_Italics_ : _Dreams_

_**Bold and Italics**__ : __**Things Duo hears from the others while unconscious **_

**[#] **: Notes at the end of chapter

* * *

Chapter 8: Of Darkness and Dreams

_unknownangel_rae_

Duo POV

* * *

"_**All systems are on auto-pilot. We're headed for an airport by HQ. An ambulance will be ready to take him to Sally." **_**[1]**

That voice…Trowa? Why is Trowa here? Where am I? My body aches but nothing seems broken which is a good I guess. Wait, did that groan come from me? Slowly, I open my eyes to see Heero's beautiful dark blue eyes looking at me. What's that look for? What's he worried about? It's subtle, but I've spent enough time watching the Perfect Soldier to know his facial expressions and body language pretty well if I do say so myself.

"He…Heero?" I croaked out a bit more a pathetically than I would have liked but nothing I can do about it now I guess. A sharp pain in my head makes me gasp but it's gone quickly.

"Yes, Duo." Nodding slightly I realized that the way I'm currently laying down is a bit uncomfortable so I decided to sit up. I hope the dizziness goes away. I hadn't even moved an inch before a terrible pain erupted in my head. My eyes are closed but I can see brightly colored lights flashing and my head is throbbing and I'm only slightly aware of a loud scream, probably my own, in my ears. I feel my hands grasping my head; I guess they are trying to squeeze out the pain, but suddenly it's a bit harder to breathe. It's strange, this pain, I'd never felt anything like it before. Even if I were to make myself experience every single bad thing to have happened to me in my entire life all at the same time…I don't think that would even match the level of agony I'm feeling right now, at this very moment.

"Duo!" I could barely hear Quat over the pounding in my head; I've never had a headache this bad, ever! What the hell is going on! My chest feels tight, this pain in my head…what happened? Suddenly, I felt two very strong yet gentle arms grab me and pull me toward them. A heartbeat…a fast heartbeat, the subtle scent of gunpowder and soap, a gentle warmth surrounded me and I wanted nothing more than to melt into a puddle of Duo goo. Must be Heero.

"Duo what is it?" I could feel the voice reverberate through the body that held me and confirmed that it was indeed Heero but I couldn't respond. I couldn't move. The throbbing in my head didn't give any indication of ceasing its crusadeon my skull. Heero, what's wrong with me? I felt a whimper well up inside my body, itching to escape but I kept my mouth shut tightly. I will hold it prisoner for as long as possible…I'm not weak…I will not show them weakness…I could hear talking but I couldn't make any of it out. I could only recognize voices…one voice, I'd never heard before but I was able to pick out…Wufei and Trowa and…crying? Quatre? Has to be…

Those strong, warm arms that I believed to be Heero's tightened around me, I felt…safe, protected…cared about. I also felt…wet, sweaty mostly…tears, possibly, that metallic smell could only mean blood, but who's? Mine?

"Shh…Duo." I could no longer hold it in. The whimper escaped and opened the flood gates, the pain, if it was possible escalated. A thousand knives being shoved into one's body was not a very good description but I couldn't think. I have no idea how to describe the aching, the throbbing, the pounding in my head…maybe going to a Taiko concert with a massive hangover would do the agony justice? Going to an amusement park on school field trip day with a migraine? Being stuck in a shuttle for eighteen hours with every single seat but yours filled with children all crying their eyes out and screaming their heads off…well…all of the above would be my best guess…

I feel myself fading…no I can't let that happen…I'll need to ground myself…right! Grab Heero's shirt! Crap, it's not working…slowly…I'm slipping into darkness…no damn it! Talk! Keep yourself awake Duo!

"It hurts Heero…it…" was all I was able to pathetically say before the shadows' call proved to be too strong, or maybe the promise of sleep and safety was too convincing? It wasn't long before my mind faded and I felt myself fall into the warm darkness. The pain dulled and my body felt numb. The sounds around me faded away but I was balancing between consciousness and oblivion, I could still feel Heero holding me gently, moving my hair from my forehead, good thing too because it was a bit uncomfortable having it stuck to my head like that. At least now I wasn't in that uncomfortable laying position like earlier. So warm…Heero sure is a great pillow…so kind and gentle too. The blackness was getting blacker if that was possible and I knew I was close. It was hard now to concentrate on anything with Heero gently caressing my face. Was this it for the great Duo Maxwell? Deathscythe pilot? Shinigami? Was I really going to die? Hmm…maybe it didn't matter now. I did what I was born to do I guess…pilot Deathscythe, destroy OZ and restore peace. Must be why I was never able to self-destruct huh…Damn button…no regrets though right? No longer able to hold on, I welcome the shadows; maybe I'm ready to die…

* * *

_Where the hell am I? I looked around me. One minute I'm with Heero and the next I'm here…in this place…this weird two toned, black and gray city that honestly is creeping the hell outta me. For some reason, I'm now in an alleyway in what looks to be the downtown area of a city I'm not familiar with. This whole thing is strange, but until I figure out what the hell is going on, Duo remain calm and collected and just take a look around and try to find some answers…yeah that sounds like a good plan. I mean really, there's gotta be someone in this weird place that knows where I am and hopefully they might know __why__ I'm here, here's to hopin' I get lucky! Taking a deep breath, I slowly walk out of the alley and onto what looks to be a main street and it wasn't until then that I noticed it…there are no people here…Where is everyone? There are no cars, no bustling nightlife, nothing…just a single lit streetlamp across the street. Hey! There's a person standing under the light! I can't make out any facial features but there's definitely a person standing there!_

"_Hey! Can I ask you something real quick?" I yell, running across the vacant street toward the mysterious person. For a second I swear I saw a smirk on their face before they stepped back and vanished into the shadows before I got to the other side of the road. "Hey! Wait! Please! I just need to ask you something!" Picking up the pace, I ran faster. There is a pathway that looked like it leads into the park just past the light and I think that the person went toward the park. I sprinted up the trail and into the dark, tree-filled area. Where did they go? I slowed to a cautious walk and looked around suspiciously. I don't want to take any chances out here, especially since I know absolutely nothing about this creepy place. Anything can happen so I should be fully alert and conscious to the things around me. Wouldn't Heero be proud? Ha…yeah right. _

"_Hello? I called out, "Is anyone there?" Slowly and steadily, I walked toward the center of the enormous park and once more divided my attention in two and tried to think about what had happened to me but it seemed that the harder I tried the further the answers got from me. Looking around I realized that I was no longer moving. In fact, I'm no longer where I was. All there is, is darkness…_

* * *

"_**I don't care! He killed people."[2]**_

What?

"_**Hurry, get a doctor!"**_

A doctor? For what?

"_**Shit." **_

"Hee –" Argh! Not again! That pain!

"_**Duo-,"**_ Damn it! Argh! I don't know how much more I can take! I feel myself curling up and trying hard to get rid of the pain but I know that it's inside me…in my veins, in my head!

"No!" I feel gentle arms grab at me, trying to force me to stop moving and I know I shouldn't be but…it hurts so damn much!

"_**Duo I know it hurts but I need you to stop!" **_Damn it Heero don't you think I would if I could? Oh god! Those arms…is Heero hugging me to him? Lord, in any other situation I would be thanking you…

What's going on? What- argh!

"Heero…what…what's wrong with….argh!" I can feel tears leaking from my eyes and sliding down my face.

"_**Schwartz injected a drug into you that causes pain and hallucinations."**_ What the hell! Wincing, I try hard to keep my yell in my chest…I already look weak enough.

"B…Bastard!"

"_**He woke up, do you have any sedatives on you?" **_Wait, what? Sedatives?

"_**He tore out his IV."**_ I did? Didn't even notice…wait what do they mean sedative?

"_**Mr. Yuy, why don't you tell him first; before I put him under."**_

"_**Duo?" **_Trying to focus on Heero's voice I nod.

" _**We're going to sedate you alright? You won't feel the pain." **_What!Like hell you're going to sedate me!

"NO!" No way in hell am I gonna show more weakness to you guys…I'm not weak!

"_**Duo we have to or-" **_I don't care!

"No! I…won't do it!"

"_**Duo don't be stupid."**_Damn it Trowa! I'm not stupid!

"I'm not! Argh! I'm-," God damn it! It's getting harder to focus…I can't…think straight.

"_**Yes Duo you are." **_You bastard!

"No!" I don't think I've yelled at someone as much as I have now…but the pain is nearly unbearable. Pushing Heero away, I turn over and hug myself to try and stop the pain. I don't need their pity…I'm not weak.

"_**Duo,"**_

"No…I…I won't…I can handle it…I'm not weak!" I managed to say with as much force as I could muster.

"_**Stupid!" **_Heh…Come on Wufei…I'm sure you could've come up with something else by now.

"_**You think that if we put you under we'll think you're weak?" **_Wait what? Wufei? Where did that come from? I don't know…I feel myself slipping…both physically and mentally. I'm so confused…

"_**Duo," **_Heero, _**"If you don't take the sedative, you'll be in pain until you pass out."**_

"I don't ca-ahh!"Damn it!

"_**Duo please, please take it!"**_ Is Heero that concerned…he's never once sounded like that when asking me for something…never pleading…Heero sure has changed.

"_**Duo, we hate seeing you in pain." **_Well damn Heero, go ahead and confuse the living hell outta me why don't ya. It's bad enough this pain is taking a toll on my mental capacity as well…But whatever…I'm just… so tired…so tired of fighting.

"Fine," Heero moving my sweaty bangs off of my forehead feels nice…I quite like that…How weird that I'm feeling an overwhelming sense of feelings in my chest right now…

"_**Thank you Duo,"**_ Aw, a gentle and whispered thank you, how sweet Heero…ow..well that must have been the injection…yep cause now my head is spinning…No, I change my mind…I wanna stay with this Heero! The caring one who doesn't hate me! No! Wait Heero!

"I love you Heero…" Oh no…what have I done...

* * *

_No P.O.V_

_Duo sighed happily as he lay on the soft grass under a tree with the warm light of the sun shining down on him. __**[3]**_

"_It's so peaceful here," he thought. He sat up slightly, leaning on his elbows and looked at the area surrounding him. The city was bustling with people, happy people and it seemed as if they didn't have a care in the world. The long haired boy lay back down and just after he closed his eyes to take a small nap, he felt the earth shake beneath him. He opened his eyes wide then heard an explosion. The ex-pilot sat up quickly, looking to the city. His jaw dropped in shock and his eyes widened in horror. "No…" he thought, "No way…I'm…That's not…" He stood and tried to run forward but the ground shook again and he fell back against the tree. Duo slid down the tree to the ground, staring at the scene before him. The city was being destroyed and all those people were dying. What scared him most, however, was that it was Deathscythe doing the destruction. He heard blood curdling screams, children crying, adults crying and yelling, things exploding, yet saw nothing, having closed his eyes sometime before. Tears leaked from his eyes and flowed down his cheeks. When the massacre stopped the ex-gundam pilot opened his eyes to look at the city. Deathscythe was now gone. _

"_No…" he thought again. He stood but immediately fell to his knees then clutched his head as if he were in pain. _

'_You did it…you killed us…dead…we're dead…because of you…dead…you killed us…kill…your fault…murderer…monster…demon..' he heard._

"_NO!" he yelled, "I'm not a killer!" he collapsed to the ground, tears still flowing down his cheeks, too weak to move. _

"_No…no…"he whispered as he stared off at nothing. The once beautiful sky was now red and clouds threatened rain. The beautiful tree, had no leaves and lack the life that made it a truly breathtaking sight to see. _

"_No…I'm not…"_

* * *

_Duo's P.O.V_

_As odd as it sounds, I feel at peace with everything in my life thus far…I'm not sure if that's the drug talking or if I've finally lost my mind but I feel weightless…like the world around me is no longer being mean and sitting on my shoulders laughing at my life and choices ya know? But whatever…I still kinda feel that it's odd and out of place and the slightest bit creepy that I feel like I'm floating in a pitch black darkness that kinda looks a little like space to me but isn't…weird right? For the first time in my life things feel right with the world and that is the one clue that tells me hands down that something is so very wrong yet I can't seem to make myself care enough to do something about it. I mean I know I can be very lazy at times - okay all the time – but still with the bad feeling I'm getting that is constantly conflicting with the cool sweet sensations of 'carefreeness' I feel, I'm finding it extremely hard to care. _

_Wait…wasn't I just a few minutes ago dreaming of destroying an entire city and murdering thousands upon thousands of people? Eh oh well…I guess it was really just a dream I mean that couldn't have been me right? I've been here for as long as I can remember and I don't really feel like a killer. But I can't ignore that nagging in the back of my mind that keeps telling me I've forgotten something very important about myself…I've tried forgetting about it mostly because it looks like a gigantic black mass that keeps floating in and out of my peripherals then disappears the second I try to focus on it. Kinda like a ghost, ya know? But hey, ghosts don't truly exist right? I mean they're just projections the mind supplies…right? I'm not too sure anymore though. I'm not even really sure what I was talking about a couple minutes ago to be honest. Things here are so scattered and I can't seem to get a firm grip on anything at the moment. _

_Hold on…is that a light? I think it is but I'm not too sure…I'll try getting closer to it and try to figure out what it is. Wait a minute, what's that noise? It…it sounds like a voice and it's saying something to me I think! _

"…_**uo…."**_

_I can't make out what it's saying though. It's too soft…too gentle. _

"_**Duo…..up"**_

_It just said my name! How does it know my name? Although…it does sound a bit familiar to me somehow…I'm not sure why though._

* * *

1. Chapter 3

2. Chapter 4

3. Chapter 4

Alrighty! I'm ready for the flames! :'( It's sad but I can't think of any reason why anyone would even be continuing to read this. My severe lack of desire to update stories is the exact reason why I hate doing stories with chapters...oh well. I do hope you enjoyed at least a little bit of this chapter and maybe know a little of what's goin on inside Duo's head...Seriously though, I do really appreciate all of you who have at least read this much and stuck with me through everything.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving guys!


End file.
